Over 1/3 of Baby Boomers reported that they have under $25,000 dollars in savings.
In this day and age, the generation that is retiring/about to retire has very little money saved up in the bank. There are a multitude of reasons for this, but I only bring this up on a geriatric depression forum because the poor are famously underserved in the American healthcare system. Yes, there are systems in place to help the elderly like Medicare parts A-D. However, these programs don't cover a lot of important mental health visits. How can the elderly be asked to step up and ask for help, if it comes at the cost of their economic wellbeing?
a lot of people of lower social economic status are afraid to seek help due to their poor economic situation. Tbh, psychiatrists and psychologists are quite expensive, especially in the United States. So it’s really important that medical care can cover some part of the mental health so it can become more accessible for people in lower socio-economic status.
This is an interesting point that you raise, and while my response doesn’t directly respond to the post, it is somewhat related. Kenya is 56 years old, that is, she gained independence from the British colonists in 1963. Therefore, a lot of the elderly, especially those around 60 years of age and above, were born, raised, and lived through the colonial days and the aftermath of the war of independence, including my own grandparents. The economy was in shambles — it still is today (according to the World Bank, 35% of Kenyans live on less that $1.90)— but it was worse back then. Because of this, a lot of the elderly reaped no retirement benefits, and live on nothing rather than depending on their younger sons and daughters (My own father financially supports my grandmother in every single, little way, including just buying bread for afternoon tea). As a result of this, many would rather spend their money on more “important, pressing” issues rather than mental health issues such as depression, given the stigma it also holds in the African community at large. In the long run, mental health issues have now place in the common Kenyan’s budget as there is already so little money and so much to spend it on, and this becomes especially a problem for the elderly who aren’t even making any money of their own.