Women over 50 are worried about the U.S. economy and that has big election ramifications

September 24, 2024 at 11:23 AM EDT

Women older than 50 are increasing concerned about the state of the U.S. economy, saying rising costs for housing, groceries and medical care are threatening their economic security, a new poll from AARP shows.

An overwhelming 80% of women voters 50+ say elected officials are not addressing the financial challenges they face, a statistic that could play a major role in the U.S. presidential election that is just a little over 40 days away.

“Women voters 50+ will be a decisive force in this election. They are very motivated to vote and are looking for candidates who will give them some peace of mind about their financial future,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy & engagement officer, in a press release announcing the polling results.

“They don’t think that policymakers really understand the financial challenges they face today with the high cost of housing and groceries or longer-term when it comes to paying the bills in retirement, if they are even able to retire at all,” she said.

Financial security will be top of mind for many older women voters, who often find themselves in precarious economic circumstances, according to the poll.

Nearly two-thirds of women 50+ (62%) say the current economy isn’t working for them, and 64% say they’re less financially secure than they expected. Alarmingly, 67% do not have a retirement savings account through their workplace, and 70% lack an individual retirement account (IRA) outside of the workplace.

Less than half (38%) say they have enough money to cover three months of expenses if they lose their income, and 41% don’t have enough to cover a $500 emergency expense.

Women 50+ trust Harris more than Trump to handle key economic issues, including the overall economy (46% vs. 42%), prescription drug prices (52% vs. 35%), and Social Security and Medicare (52% vs. 36%).

Not surprisingly, then the national poll shows Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump by 12 points among women voters 50+ (54% vs. 42%), compared to a narrower 3-point lead she carries among voters overall. In January, these women favored Biden over Trump by just 3 points (46% vs. 43%). Notably, 96% of these women are motivated to vote in November.

Additional key economic findings from the survey include:

Protecting Social Security from cuts (93%) tops the list when asked what would help them personally, followed by lowering the cost of food (92%) and health care (84%).
Women 50+ say that people earning less than $50,000 a year (81%), renters (81%), American retirees (80%), Americans age 50+ (79%), and people caring for older family members or loved ones (78%) are hurting in today’s economy.
Among those who are working, more than half (59%) are not confident they will have enough money to retire at an age they’d prefer. For those who are retired, 41% are not confident they have enough retirement money saved to avoid going back to work.
Forty-five percent of women 50+ who are still working say they cannot afford to save for retirement.

“What concerns these women is less the ability to put food on the table today and more their ability to have financial security for tomorrow and beyond,” said pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson, founding partner, Echelon Insights. “They worry that things feel precarious and are looking for policymakers to help them have a strong economic foundation for the long-haul.”

The poll was conducted by a bipartisan team including Soltis Anderson and Margie Omero. It was fielded online from Aug. 27 – Sept. 2, ahead of the presidential debate between Harris and Trump. The final survey included interviews with 2,785 respondents, with a base sample of 2,045 voters in the likely electorate nationwide.

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Women over 50 are worried about the U.S. economy and that has big election ramifications

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