AARP Survey Reveals Older LGBTQ+ Adult Concerns With Support, Aging

WASHINGTON—A new AARP study discovered four in five (78%) older adults who identify as LGBTQ+ are concerned with a lack of support from family and friends as they age. At the same time, nearly half (45%) of these adults are already living with a chronic condition and/or disability. The report, titled “Dignity 2024: The Experience of LGBTQ+ Older Adults,” examined the top concerns of LGBTQ+ adults ages 45 and up, including caregiving, mental health, finances, relationships and isolation. 

“The unique needs and realities of older LGBTQ+ Americans are still too often overlooked in society,” said Cassandra Cantave Burton, senior research advisor for AARP. “AARP’s research has consistently shown that the majority of LGBTQ+ older adults are concerned about having adequate social supports to rely on as they age.”

The survey found three in five LGBTQ+ respondents ages 45 or older (58%) are caregivers or have been in the past. 78% of these LGBTQ+ caregivers said they are emotionally stressed, while others said they feel obligated to care for someone who does not accept their identity (14%). Most (61%) LGBTQ+ caregivers said they find it difficult to get enough rest. 

Almost half of all survey respondents (45%) expressed a lack of companionship, and more (48%) said they often or sometimes feel isolated from others. LGBTQ+ respondents with a disability (51%) were more likely to be extremely or very concerned about having adequate social support compared to those without a disability (33%).

Additionally, the survey found most (77%) LGBTQ+ older adults believed being physically active and healthy was important. When asked about access to health care, respondents said age discrimination (25%), sexual orientation discrimination (21%) or gender identity discrimination (20%) affected their health.

Other noteworthy findings include:

• When considering future employment prospects among those who are employed, age-based discrimination is feared by nearly half (45%) of LGBTQ+ adults 45 and up.
• Almost all respondents (94%) said maintaining financial security was very or extremely important.
• Amidst all LGBTQ+ groups, transgender/nonbinary individuals were least likely to have $75k or more (34%) in household income.

The survey offered recommendations to improve respondents’ outcomes, such as increasing health care access and equipping health care providers with tools and training for heightened awareness of issues within the LGBTQ+ community.

“Dignity 2024: The Experience of LGBTQ+ Older Adults” was fielded online in April 2024. A total of 2,212 LGBTQ+ community members ages 45 and over participated, including 1,013 cisgender gay and bisexual+ men, 868 cisgender lesbian and bisexual+ women and an oversample of 331 transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) participants. The study oversampled Asian (106), African American/Black (276) and Hispanic/Latino (a/x) (269) individuals. All reports in the Dignity series can be found here.