Wealth Disparities among Older Americans: The Cumulative Disadvantages of Minority Immigrant Elders

Wenqian Dai, University of South Dakota
Qiang Ren, Peking University
Ying Yang, Shippensburg University

Population aging and increasing minority populations are two noteworthy demographic changes in the U.S. In particular, a large proportion of Hispanics and Asians are immigrants. This paper examines the cumulative disadvantages of minority immigrant elders at wealth accumulation. We test the multiple jeopardy hypotheses that states the negative effects of being women, racial and ethnic minorities, and immigrants on wealth accumulation are amplified with aging. Elders have larger wealth differences by race, gender, marital and immigration status, compared to other adults. We use the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation Core Module, and Wave 2 and 7 Topical Modules. We compare the differences in median net worth by gender, marital status, race/ethnicity, and immigration status among elders to the differences among other adults(18 to 64). We also conduct OLS regression to test the interactive effects of being a senior and those negative factors on wealth accumulation.