Countering the argument for greater mobility among the elderly is the rising retirement age. As people look forward to longer lives and as the age for full Social Security benefits edges higher, many seniors will choose to continue to work. For those delaying retirement who have considerable wealth, keeping a primary residence near work and another one elsewhere for recreational purposes may become a popular choice. Not all seniors, of course, have the resources to exercise the same options. Disparities in wealth are particularly wide between older owners and renters.
Inequalities are also evident between older minorities and non-Hispanic whites.
While differences in homeownership rates and home equity explain some of this disparity, it should be noted that white renters have much more wealth than minority renters. Perhaps one of the most important legacies that today's seniors will leave is the housing stock they now occupy. Seniors currently own 17.4 million units that they will eventually pass on. Most of these homes are in good repair because older households generally focus their home expenditures on maintenance projects such as replacing the roofing, siding, and mechanical systems. At the same time, though, many senior households have occupied their homes for years, and their units are both older and smaller than newly constructed homes.