Skip to the main content of the pageSouth Carolina Mature Adults Count: A Profile of South Carolina's Older Population

2003 State Report: Who We Are

Demographics

The first Baby Boomer turned 50 in 1996. For the first time in history, the 50 plus age group population outnumbers teens. Those 50 and older now claim one-quarter of the nation's population, their numbers having risen steadily with each decade. The nation - and our state - is growing older.

The median age (the age at which half the population is younger and half older) has risen from 28 in 1970 to 32 in 1990. By the year 2010, we can expect the national median age to be 37.4. The state's median age as well has grown from 23.6 years in 1950 to 35.4 years in 2000. The state also expects mature adult numbers to rise and represent one-third of its residents in 2015.

The U.S. Census Bureau predicts the 65 and older population will grow from one in eight Americans today to one in six by 2020. The mature adult population will total 53.7 million, representing a 53.8 percent increase over today's 34.9 million mature adult population.

South Carolina's older residents show the same trends: Mature adults as a group outpaced others with a 33 percent growth rate between 1990 and 2000. In 2000, South Carolina boasted 485,300 residents 65 and older, a number that has increased by 100,000 each decade from 1950 to 1990, and by 90,900 from 1990 to 2000. This was an increase of 322 percent from 1950 to 2000. In 2000, 27.9 percent of the state's residents were over 50, whereas in 1970 only 21 percent were over 50. South Carolina's 50+ population totaled 1,121,000 in 2000, a 111 percent increase from 1970.

An astonishing growth in the numbers of South Carolina residents over 85 parallels the national trend. In 1950, their numbers totaled 4,193. By 2000 there were 50,269, twelve times the number in 1950. By the year 2025, estimates are that the number of people over 85 will reach 98,609, representing a 96 percent increase from 2000.

Graph: Growth in South Carolina's 85 and Over Population 1910-2000

Graph: South Carolina's 50 and Over Population by Age Group 1950-2000

This population explosion is creating a new market and voting force with specific needs and challenges:

Top 7 South Carolina Counties With Largest Percent Growth In 50+ Population 1990-2000

County Percent Change
1. Beaufort 81.8%
2. McCormick 63.4%
3. Horry 62.7%
4. Dorchester 58.6%
5. Berkeley 58.2%
6. Lexington 56.0%
7.Georgetown 54.0%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 and 2000 Census of Population and Housing.

South Carolina's 50+ Population

Graph: Sources of Income for the 65 and Over U.S. Population in 2000
 

Our Financial Stability

We spend hours fantasizing about the time of life when we don't have to begin work at 8 a.m. But when the time comes to retire, can we afford a life of leisure?

Our work years provide income toward savings, contributions to Social Security, and in many cases company pensions or company'matched 401(k) plans to help prepare for retirement. Health insurance benefits contribute to financial security during our work years. During 2001, private health insurance was the payment source for 60 percent of the state's 50-64 population receiving either inpatient or outpatient services. The majority of individuals 65 and over used Medicare as their payment source for such services (94 percent).

Expected And Actual Retirement Age

  Current Workers' Expectations Retirees' Experience
Under Age 55 5% 15%
Age 55-59 12% 16%
Age 60-61 11% 11%
Age 62-64 11% 29%
Age 65 29% 11%
Age 66 or Older 18% 13%

Source: Employee Benefits Research Institute; Retirement Confidence Survey 2002

Because of the size and administrative structure of the Medicare program, it has been designated by the General Accounting Office in 1990 as a program at high risk for abuse. In 1999, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services reported that of the $164 billion processed fee-for-service Medicare claim payments in 1999, $13.5 billion (8.2 percent) may have been paid improperly due to error, fraud, or abuse. An effort has been made in recent years to educate beneficiaries about the steps to take if they suspect fraud, such as reporting it to their Medicare insurance company and to the Office of the Inspector General's hotline. Also, the Administration on Aging has given out many grants to community based agencies to train volunteers how to educate Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries how to detect and report potential fraud and error. In the initial phase of this program, $23 was returned for every dollar spent. Additionally, in 1999 and 2000 the Administration on Aging awarded 48 grants to expand and renew community based programs known as the ‘Senior Medicare Patrol Projects,’ in which retired volunteers are trained to identify error, fraud, and abuse.

Social Security began providing supplemental income for older Americans in the 1930s. But the federal program, as well as Veterans Administration benefits, reduces retiree benefits at certain levels of earned income. Many mature adults do not have pensions on which to depend. With today's economic environment, some companies are reducing pension benefits. In 2002, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, the government agency that protects the retirement incomes of many Americans, experienced the largest financial loss and absorbed the largest number of participants in the single-employer program ever in its 28 year history. It paid more than $1.5 billion in benefits, which was 50% more than the record amount paid during the previous year. This may be attributed to corporate bankruptcies, pension plan failures, and the volatility of financial markets.

Income, benefits and earnings are limited in retirement. With taxes on income, sometimes the cost of working outweighs the benefits of retiring. Financial planning during the peak earning years of 45 to 59 is essential for a successful adjustment into retirement. A lifetime of financial planning, however, needs to be encouraged for all, not only those 50 and older.
 

Incomes For Those Over 50 Are Vulnerable

Financial experts say a secure retirement requires a post-retirement income of 80 percent of a person's current annual after-tax income. Few take into consideration the costs of disabling conditions, extended health or medical care for a family member or extensive housing repairs that can cause serious financial problems.

How Will I Pay For Retirement?

  Current Workers' Expectations Retirees' Experience
Personal Savings 44% 17%
Employer'funded plans 21% 25%
Social Security 13% 44%
Employment 9% 1%
Sale of home or business 6% 5%
Other government income programs 3% 5%
Support from children/family 1% <0.5%

Source: Employee Benefits Research Institute; Retirement Confidence Survey 2002

Added to those concerns is an inflation rate that erodes the value of our income. Prices for consumer goods have tripled over the past 25 years.

Social Security and pensions provide the bulk of retiree income. According to the 1990 Census, over one-fourth of South Carolinians 50 and over depend solely on Social Security for income. A 1990 Panel Study of Older South Carolinians showed that 24 percent of persons 55-64 and 37 percent of those 65 and over depended solely on pensions and non-wage sources for income. In 2000, there were 411,216 retired workers in South Carolina receiving Social Security benefits with an average monthly benefit of $812.07 with the amount of annual benefits totaling 4.0 billion for the state. These numbers represented a 3.1 percent increase in retired workers receiving benefits, and a 5.3 percent increase in the amount of monthly benefits received from the previous year. In South Carolina in fiscal year 2002, There were 41,303 seniors ages 50-64 who received food stamps, and 26,686 ages 65 and over who received them.

Graph: South Carolina Median Household Income in 1999 by Age of Householder

Only 58 percent of private wage and salary workers nationally are employed by firms sponsoring pension plans, and only 19 percent of retirees' income is from pension plans or annuities. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the overall pension coverage rate in 1999 was 44 percent. The rate was lower for part-time workers, resulting in a lower rate for women (40 percent) than men (47 percent). The rate was also lower for minorities, those less educated, those with lower earnings, and non-unionized workers. For those who had access to a pension plan and chose not to participate, the primary reason was that doing so was unaffordable.

Layoffs and the likelihood of health problems increasing with age threaten to shorten the length of employment, resulting in the need to claim pensions and savings at earlier ages. According to the 2000 Census, 32.1 percent of South Carolina's 65 and over population have a physical disability, and 11.6 percent of South Carolina residents 65 and older have a self-care disability. Poverty, then, looms as a threat to all of those over 50 with limited sources of income.

Another threat to the income of the elderly is the increasing frequency of debt. Seniors are the fastest-growing group of debtors in the U.S. In 1992, only 35 percent of seniors carried debt, but this figure increased to 59 percent by 2000. Nearly 23 percent of seniors 75 and over had debt in excess of 40 percent of their income in 1998. The frequency of bankruptcy among seniors has also jumped 244 percent from 1991-2002. There are a variety of reasons for this increasing debt, such as insufficient funds for retirement, low interest rates and a sluggish stock market, climbing medical bills, major home repairs, and loans to family members. Seniors who find themselves in financial crisis may seek debt counseling, and should take advantage of programs available to seniors such as homestead tax exemption, reverse mortgages, and prescription drug and energy assistance.
 

Women, Blacks Face Poverty

Older women, who typically outlive men, are particularly vulnerable to poverty. Many have never been employed, left employment to raise children or worked in jobs where pensions were not provided. They are dependent on their spouse's pension or Social Security survivor benefits, but many find out too late that they are not eligible for them.

In 2000, the median income for South Carolina residents 65 and over living alone was $13,721 for women and $19,330 for men. According to the 2000 Census, 34.6 percent of black women 65 and over in South Carolina live in poverty while 11.8 percent of white their white counterparts, primarily because of the reduced employment opportunities and wages available to them during their work years. The 2000 Census numbers for South Carolina showed that while 9.2 percent of whites 60 and over lived below the poverty level, 30.8 percent of blacks were below poverty.

Graph: Percent of Persons 65 and Over Living Below Poverty in 1999
 

Many Of Our Seniors Face A Secure Retirement

It should be noted that not all of South Carolina's seniors face financial difficulty in the future. When looking at the chart below, we can see that a significant number of households have reasonable levels of income after they reach age 65.

Graph: Household Income for Persons 65 and Over in 1999

Based upon the 2000 Census, there are 315,303 households with persons 65 or older in South Carolina. 32.7 percent (102,973 households) have income less than $15,000 per year. An additional 18.4 percent (58,137 households) have income between $15,000 and $24,999. 51.1 percent of senior households are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Whilethis is a concern to policymakers, 48.9% fare considerably better and face a more secure retirement. 88,406 households or 28.0 percent have income between $25,000 and $49,999 per year. An additional 49,050 or 15.6 percent of households have income between $50,000 and $99,999.

Finally, there are small segments of our state's population that are relatively wealthy for South Carolina. 12,606 or 4.0 percent of households have annual incomes between $100,000 and $199,999. The richest seniors account for 4,131 or 1.3 percent of households and have an annual income of $200,000 or more.

Households with householders aged 65 and over in South Carolina accounted for $11,932,099,700 in household income in 1999 as reported in the 2000 Census. Households with householders 65 and over make up 20.5 percent of all households, but report 16.1 percent of all household income.

Based upon the above income information and the mean income information from the appendices showing income by county, the following seven counties have the highest mean incomes by age groups 55-64, 65-74, and 75+:

  1. Beaufort
  2. Lexington
  3. York
  4. Richland
  5. Charleston
  6. Greenville
  7. Aiken

Based upon the above income information and the mean income information from the appendices showing income by county, the following seven counties have the lowest mean incomes by age groups 55-64, 65-74, and 75+:

  1. Allendale
  2. Williamsburg
  3. Lee
  4. Marlboro
  5. Marion
  6. Hampton
  7. Colleton

When looking at South Carolina's wealthiest households, we can see that the largest number of households with income greater than $200,000 live in five of the seven counties noted above. There are 4,131 South Carolina households aged 65 and older with incomes of $200,000 or more. Following are the top seven counties of individuals 65 and older with household incomes of $200,000 or more:

  1. Beaufort - 582
  2. Greenville - 516
  3. Charleston - 450
  4. Richland - 292
  5. Horry - 207
  6. Spartanburg - 199
  7. Lexington - 143

Overall, we see that there is wide variation or diversity in income levels between mature adults in South Carolina. More than 50% of all households have income below the approximate 200 percent of poverty range, and thus face many challenges both now and in the future for their retirement years. However, the remainder of South Carolina's mature adults faces a far sunnier retirement future. How our government, communities, churches and individual citizens address the income and corresponding retirement issues and needs in the future will have a significant impact on our state's overall quality of life.
 

Employment And The Older Workforce

Because of the way society categorizes us during our lifetimes (“She's a doctor. He's a lawyer.”), leaving the work force can reduce an older person's feelings of self-worth. “He's retired” might translate to an older adult as “I don't do anything.” Friends still in the work force don't have time to play golf or have lunch anymore. The stimulation and learning environment of the workplace is gone. Too often, the expertise, maturity and perspective of older adults are overlooked.

Many older workers opt out of the dramatically changing workplace - one that may require credentials, special educational attainment, retraining or new specialized skills. Forty-five percent of today's retirees retired earlier than they had planned. Some of them cited positive reasons, such as being able to afford an early retirement (37 percent) or wanting to do something else (20 percent), but more cited negative reasons such as health problems or disability (52 percent) or changes at their company such as downsizing or closure (26 percent). Still other older workers want to retire but can't. In some cases their investments or pensions have lost value due to changes in the stock market, or they do not have access to retiree health benefits. Other factors also affect continued employment, such as a family member that needs caregiving.

For a variety of reasons, the 2000 Census state unemployment rate was 3.2 percent for South Carolinians age 50-59, 3.1 for those 60-64, 3.2 percent for those 65-69, 4.9 percent for those 70-74 and 20.0 percent for residents 75 and over. According to the Employment Security Commission, the total state rate (16 and over) in December 2002 was 6.0 percent.

Factors that affect continued employment and can impact post retirement income:

Graph: Percent Participating in South Carolina's Labor Force by Age Group in 2000

Many 50 and older workers prefer to stay in the workplace, but at the same time they are affected by restructuring, downsizing, and elimination of jobs due to mechanization. Age discrimination is another potential problem. In fiscal year 2002, the SC Human Affairs Commission received 150 complaints of age discrimination. As of the 2000 Census, there were 267,609 (31.2 percent) South Carolinians 55 and older left in the labor force. Broken out by age groups these rates were 63.2 percent of state residents age 55-59, 43.5 percent of those 60-64, 22.7 percent age 65-69, 13.9 percent age 70-74, and 6.8 percent age 75 and over.

Graph: Number of Age Discrimination Complaints Received in South Carolina 1990-2002

Additionally, South Carolinians over 60 can attend any state-supported college, technical school or university tuition free if space is available and admission requirements are met. This allows older workers to hone their knowledge and skills or begin a new career track altogether. In Fall 2002, 194 seniors were taking courses for free tuition at various campuses of the University of South Carolina. In South Carolina, 32.7 percent of persons 60 and over have less than a 9th grade education, 21.8 percent are high school graduates, 12.5 percent have some college or an associates degree and 12.0 percent have a bachelor's degree or higher.

Transportation to classes as well as to the workplace is a challenge for older residents, particularly in rural areas. Transportation is an important issue for mature adults, because once someone loses the ability to drive, they lose the independence, freedom and contact with the outside world that come with driving. Transportation problems have been shown to be associated with loneliness, isolation, income and self-care problems. In the year 2000, three-fourths of seniors nationally live in rural or suburban areas that have few alternatives to automobile travel, and the oldest old (85 plus) are even more concentrated in rural areas. According to the 2000 Census, 15.2 percent of the state's householders 65 and over had no vehicle available. The cost of maintaining a vehicle or an impairment that prevents someone from driving can force an older worker to rely on public transportation. Public transportation systems, however, exist in only 31 counties, and their numbers are declining. Systems exist in 16 counties classified as rural, 2 coastal, and 13 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). However, persons in the most rural parts of these counties still may not have access to transportation.
 

Caregiving And Mature Adults

Caregiving is a significant issue for mature adults who are frequently the recipients and the providers of such assistance. In South Carolina, family caregivers have always provided most of the long-term care for older persons. Among non-institutionalized persons needing assistance with activities of daily living, 65 percent depend solely on family and friends and another 30 percent supplement family care with services from paid providers. According to the 2000 BRFSS, nearly one out of every five adults in South Carolina (18 percent) provides care or assistance to a friend or family member over 60 years of age who is elderly or has a long-term illness or disability.

Some families prefer to care for their loved ones in the home. Other caregivers provide home care out of financial necessity. In either case, the physical and psychological demands on the unpaid family caregiver are huge. These strains are particularly evident among caregivers for dementia patients. Prevalence of depression among dementia caregivers nationwide has been found to be as much as three times higher than that of a representative population. Also, many caregivers have health problems of their own. A third (31 percent) describe their own health as “fair to poor.”

Over the past several decades, there have been significant increases in the number of children living in households maintained by their grandparents, either with or without parents present. This trend was especially prevalent in the southeast, with South Carolina being the fifth highest state in the nation for percentage of children living with their grandparents. According to the 2000 Census, 99,558 grandparents in SC lived in the same household as at least one grandchild under age 18, and 52.0 percent of these grandparents were responsible for their grandchildren. 44.6 percent of these grandparents had been responsible for their grandchildren for five years or more. Of South Carolina grandparents responsible for their grandchildren, about 69 percent were female, 71 percent were married, 55 percent were in the labor force, and 25 percent were in poverty.

There are many reasons for the increase in grandparents caring for grandchildren, including increased teen pregnancy, divorce, drug use, AIDS, and incarceration of parents. The result is that many mature adults spend their older years unexpectedly raising young children long after they thought their parenting days were over.

Of grandparent-maintained households in the United States in 1997, 48 percent were white, 31 percent were black, and the rest were other races. Half (51 percent) of grandparent-maintained families had both a grandmother and grandfather living with the grandchildren, and most of the others (43 percent) had a grandmother only. Though many grandparents said their health was good (31.2 percent), very good (21.9 percent), or excellent (13.3 percent), 33.6 percent said their health was fair or poor. Most grandparent'headed households are in suburban areas (41.3 percent) or metropolitan areas (38.9 percent) as opposed to rural areas (19.8 percent).

Of all types of grandparent-maintained families, 23 percent were under the poverty level. For households maintained by a grandmother only with no parent present, the poverty rate increased to 57.2 percent. These poverty-stricken grandmother-only households make up 14 percent of grandparent-maintained families. Grandchildren in grandparent-maintained families are more likely to be poor than other children. Most grandparent-headed households (56.2 percent) benefit from public assistance of some kind, such as school lunch program (40.0 percent), food stamps (30.3 percent), TANF and similar assistance (24.5 percent), SSI (15.5 percent), housing assistance (8.5 percent), and energy assistance (6.7 percent). Also, 36.3 percent have only public health insurance, while 33.4 percent have no health insurance at all.

Other mature adults must care for their adult children with a disability, and concern for the future of their child grows as these caregivers become older. According to the SC Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, over 1,000 individuals with severe lifelong disabilities currently receiving services from DDSN live with parents who are age 65 or over. Over 500 of these individuals live with parents 72 years of age or older. For the state, 2,531 disabled individuals live with parents ages 55 or over, and 1,123 live with parents ages 65 or over.

Since informal caregiving is such an important part of health care, it is important for policies to support it. The Older Americans Act Amendments of 2000 established the National Family Caregiver Support Program, which calls for all states to provide certain services for family caregivers. These services include providing information to caregivers about available services, assistance to caregivers in gaining access to services, individual counseling and support groups, respite care, and supplemental services. In fiscal year 2001, $1.2 million in federal money was allocated to South Carolina's Agencies on Aging. With South Carolina matching funds, the amount allocated to this program in the state was over $1.6 million. Persons eligible for these programs include family caregivers of older adults, as well as grandparents and relative caregivers to children under 18.

During this first developmental year, 3,154 caregivers received direct one-on-one assistance in gaining access to services. Counseling, support groups and/or training was provided to 4,519 caregivers. One-time mini-grants were awarded to 1,427 caregivers to assist them in purchasing 70,229 hours of respite services at an average cost of $6.31/hour. An additional 424 caregivers who identified other needs received financial grants to allow them to purchase needed supplemental services or supplies, including incontinence supplies, home modification services, and chore services.

Mature Adults 2003 Index.