Montana seniors feel fairly well prepared for the future, a new AARP study revealed. The survey of 407 Montanans over the age of 50 found that while 23 percent are concerned with having enough money for daily expenses, the majority feel they are adequately prepared to maintain their current quality of life.
AARP surveyed about 400 citizens in each of the 50 states, along with 1,000 individuals across the nation, for the new study. Sampling error margins ranged from 3 to 5 percent.
Topics spanned health care, financial well-being and future plans. Questions unique to each state were also asked.
Throughout the nation, responses were similar. Top desires included traveling and spending time on hobbies; concerns centered on health care and the economy.
In Montana, 92 percent of seniors cited staying mentally sharp as a goal. Spending time with family was a priority for 87 percent of Montanans, while 62 percent were interested in learning new things.
Montana seniors are well-insured: 98 percent said they have some sort of coverage, including Medicare or another government-provided health plan; and 76 percent reported they have most or everything in place to continue that coverage.
At the national level, 75 percent said they have what they need to retain insurance coverage.
Similar to the national average of 43 percent, 48 percent of Montana seniors said health care issues were, nonetheless, their greatest concern. When asked how prepared they were to deal with those issues, 87 percent said they had everything or most everything required to meet their health care needs. In addition, 80 percent felt secure in their ability to afford prescription medications.
Missoula county resident Eileen Kennedy once felt the same. But, she said, “illness took all my preparation away” beginning in the late 1980s.
Still, she said, “I‘ve been fortunate. I did have a good job” with insurance benefits, but medical expenses deeply cut into her retirement funds.
“My budget doesn’t allow for a lot of travel,” Kennedy said of the hobby engaged in by 38 percent of seniors nationally. Instead, the 78-year-old enjoys spending time watching her grandkids’ ball games and having little adventures in the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys.
“I write, I read, I paint,” she said of her affordable hobbies, “and I stay involved with friends.”
Montana seniors also believe in government stability, the survey found: 85 percent said Social Security will be available when they need it; an equal number said the same about Medicare.
In Idaho, 49 percent of seniors viewed health care as their greatest concern. Vacation and travel were of primary importance to 44 percent. And more than 9 in 10 desired to maintain mental clarity as they aged. The number considering the economy their top worry -- 35 percent -- was similar to Montana’s.
In Wyoming, 81 percent of seniors said they were financially secure with everything or most everything in place to remain healthy and address health care expenses through retirement. Only 16 percent said paying for necessities was a major concern; 36 percent called it a minor issue and 48 percent said it was no problem at all.
Nationally, about 30 percent of seniors cited financial worries as a major concern.
In Montana, 30 percent of seniors said they were extremely or very worried about identity theft, although 67 percent take measures against consumer fraud.
Of those, 78 percent regularly review their credit card and financial statements; 64 percent limit the number of identification cards they carry; 37 percent review annual credit reports; and 78 percent destroy credit card receipts, applications and unwanted cards.
Missoulian Harry Siebert is one such senior.
“Anything that’s got our address on it gets shredded,” he said. “I feel a little bit of precaution now will save a lot of potential headache later on.”
Complete surveys from all 50 states can be found by going to the AARP website, aarp.org/personal-growth/transitions/info-02-2011/voices-america-dreams-challenges.html.
[Published in the Missoulian, April 2011]
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