Abstract
Even before the full impact of the Great Recession hit, seniors were seeing their retirement security steadily and rapidly destroyed. The elimination of secure pensions for most Americans combined with rising costs of basic expenses has resulted in a dramatic rise in senior economic insecurity. While the recession slammed most seniors, people of color were especially hard hit; with very limited assets and resources to cushion the blow, many are falling deeper and deeper into the well of financial insecurity. More than half (52 percent) of African-American and 56 percent of Latino seniors are economically insecure. These seniors do not just have to watch their pennies; they are truly struggling everyday, forgoing basic expenditures, such as medical appointments and household maintenance, just to make ends meet.