LGBTQ+ Older Adults: A Closer Look

“When I made my retirement plans, I did not anticipate how incredibly expensive homeowners’ insurance would be,” said a 69-year-old lesbian woman from Florida. “My anticipated bill for next year is $11,000 for a two-bedroom house. Property taxes also are high in Florida if you have not lived in your house for a long time. I bought my house in 2018 and pay about $6,500 in property taxes. Those two expenses eat up about a third of my pension and Social Security income.”

This older adult says her financial situation at this point in her life doesn’t look like she imagined it would, a key reason she has not been able to retire fully. “I am almost 69, and I am still working part-time in my own business. If I chose to quit working, I would not have enough money to do the things I want to do, such as travel and eat out with friends. I like working, and I anticipate continuing to work for a long time. To give up working, I would probably need to seek a cheaper housing option.”

For many people in this demographic, anxiety about money (and other issues) doesn’t stand in the way of finding joy in their lives. But as the upcoming analysis shows, LGBTQ+ older adults do have worries — from family caregiving needs to health care to discrimination.

Half of all older LGBTQ+ adults report being very satisfied with their lives. Among those age 65-plus, 56% said they are very or extremely satisfied with their lives. However, when digging deeper into perceptions of life satisfaction, nuances emerge that raise concerns. One big issue is around companionship and support. Half of all LGBTQ+ adults are in a committed relationship, and of these individuals, the majority say they were very or extremely emotionally satisfied with their spouse or partner in the past six months. But others struggle with loneliness or isolation. Nearly half of older LGBTQ+ adults feel a lack of companionship (48% saying sometimes or often), left out (49%), and isolated from others (50%). These numbers are particularly high for transgender and bisexual adults. For example, 60% of bisexual adults and 64% of transgender adults say they sometimes or often feel isolated from others.

This isolation can mean some older LGBTQ+ Americans lack a support system to lean on. Eight in 10 older LGBTQ+ adults are concerned about having adequate family or social support as they age. This may be related to a range of factors, including family structure and experiences of estrangement. For example, just over a third of LGBTQ+ adults have children or grandchildren (35%). Gay men are the least likely to report having children (19%), compared to lesbians (44%), bisexual adults (50%), and transgender adults (56%). Support-system concerns may be compounded for those who have faced estrangement or rejection from family members.