Their findings were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Consumer Studies and Home Economics . The researchers used data collected in 1983 and 1986 from 1,934 households for the Federal Reserve System's Survey of Consumer Finances. For this study, the researchers converted all dollars to 1985 values to take inflation into account. In 1986, the proportion decreased to 6 percent. The decrease makes sense in light of the finding that households with older members are less likely to be insolvent, because the same households were interviewed in both years.
Net worth is a person's total assets minus their total debts.
Assets include cash, investments, insurance and pension funds plus the market value of a home, property, car and business. Generally, if you had a high income, you wouldn't be insolvent no matter what your age. If your income is in the mid-range, you're less likely to be insolvent as you age. Lower-income groups make some progress as they age, but they're more likely to be insolvent than other groups. Hanna speculates that home ownership may be one reason that older people were less likely to be insolvent than younger people.