A recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that some may be able to, but many more may not. The report presents income and asset data estimates for Medicare beneficiaries. Some of its key findings include:
1. half of all beneficiaries had incomes below $22,000 in 2010 (which is just under 200% of the federal poverty level);
2. median per capita income was lower for blacks and Hispanics than for whites; and
3. while per capita income is expected to rise by 2030, most of that rise will be in the highest income brackets (less than 5% of beneficiaries will have income above $119,000).
The data also show that half of all Medicare beneficiaries had less than $2,100 in retirement account savings (e.g., IRAs) in 2010, and half had less than $31,000 in other financial assets. Likewise, only a small number of beneficiaries (5%) had more than $1 million in retirement assets. As is the case with income, there are gaps between whites and blacks and Hispanics. On average, in 2010 whites had six times the savings than blacks and a little less than four times the savings of Hispanics.
