Home Alone: the New Normal for Seniors

(Photo from futurity.org)

Being home alone is the new normal for millions of senior Americans:

More than 16 million people aged 65 and older in the U.S. live alone. That represents 28% of that age group, almost triple the share in 1950. Among the reasons: increased longevity, higher divorce rates among older adults and children more scattered than previous generations.

“It’s very likely most of us will live alone in old age,” says Elena Portacolone, professor at the Institute for Health & Aging at the University of California, San Francisco. Older adults with more financial resources have more care options, but even those with resources may find themselves hunting for in-home help.

Most people are unprepared to age alone. Only one-fourth of those living alone have someone who helps or would help with cooking, cleaning and getting groceries, and more than 80% haven’t planned for ongoing living assistance, according to an AARP 2023 report. At least one-fourth of older adults with dementia live alone.

Some crises take us by surprise. The growing alone-ness that has overtaken seniors is not one of these; it has been looming for years. Money can solve some of the problems, but it can't reverse the consequences of not having more children decades ago, or moving away from hometowns where siblings, cousins, and high school friends reside, or walking away from long-time marriages.

Although everyone can point to some things they are grateful for, too often they say that if they had to do it all over again, they would not change a thing. It's sad when people lie to others and even sadder when they lie to themselves.