June 2025

LGBTQ+ Aging and Retirement Issues: A Critical Review of Current Studies and Knowledge Gaps

By Julie Duda, Bri Bloxsom & Manshreya Grover This paper presents a detailed review of select studies on the experiences and challenges faced by LGBTQ+ older adults, particularly in the context of aging and retirement. Through a systematic analysis of fourteen studies, this review aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the issues encountered by this population, highlighting key themes including discrimination, healthcare access, social support, resilience, end-of-life preparation, and mental health. There exists a broad body of scholarly work that has shed light on...

Iridescent Life Course: LGBTQ Aging Research and Blueprint for the Future – A Systematic Review

By Karen I. Fredriksen Goldsen, Sarah Jen & Anna Muraco  LGBTQ* (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer) older adults are demographically diverse and growing populations. In an earlier 25-year review of the literature on sexual orientation and aging, we identified four waves of research that addressed dispelling negative stereotypes, psychosocial adjustment to aging, identity development, and social and community-based support in the lives of LGBTQ older adults.  The current review was designed to develop an evidence base for the field...

LGBT Older Adults: Chosen Family and Caregiving

By Nancy J. Knauer In the United States, informal eldercare is principally the responsibility of younger relatives. Adult children perform the majority of eldercare and nonrelatives perform only fourteen percent of care. Caregiving in the LGBT community follows a very different pattern that reflects the importance of “chosen family” in the lives of LGBT older adults. Instead of relying on relatives, LGBT older adults largely care for each other. Relatives provide only eleven percent of all eldercare. This article explores the...

Midlife Satisfaction Disparities by Sexual Orientation: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study

By Wenhua Lai, Ning Hsieh & Hui Liu Midlife is a pivotal stage shaping healthy aging, and sexual minorities may face more challenges in midlife than heterosexual individuals, due to cumulative social, economic, and health disadvantages. Yet, few studies have examined how life satisfaction in midlife varies by sexual identity. Using data from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study (N = 3,630), we conducted logit regressions and Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) decomposition analysis to examine how health-related, socioeconomic, and sociopsychological factors contribute to disparities...

Aging and Retirement Issues for LGBTQ+ People

By Society of Actuaries Research Institute The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program in collaboration with the Sexuality and Gender Alliance of Actuaries (SAGAA) is pleased to present this collection of essays that explore aging and retirement issues for LGBTQ+ people. This collection continues the Program’s dedicated effort to further advance the SOA’s organization-wide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative. This includes its 2021 companion essay collection on aging and retirement issues for people of different races and ethnicities. Our...

Transgender seniors worry about retirement, old age amid wave of anti-trans legislation

By Andrew DeMillo, Lynne Sladky & Laura Bargfeld Rajee Narinesingh faced struggles throughout her life as a transgender woman, from workplace discrimination to the lasting effects of black market injections that scarred her face and caused chronic infections. In spite of the roadblocks, the 56-year-old Florida actress and activist has seen growing acceptance since she first came out decades ago. “If you see older transgender people, it shows the younger community that it’s possible I can have a life. I can live...

Patterns of LGBTQ+ Patient Experiences and Receipt of Preventive Care in Midlife and Older Age: A Latent Class Analysis

By Nathaniel M. Tran, Tara McKay, Gilbert Gonzales, Carrie Fry & Stacie B. Dusetzina Introduction: Understanding how LGBTQ+ patient experiences vary and are associated with receipt of preventive services may help reduce disparities between LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ populations. Objective: (1) To identify latent classes of LGBTQ+ patient experiences using seven indicators of clinical and cultural competence, (2) to identify sociodemographic characteristics associated with class membership, and (3) to evaluate the relationship between class membership and receipt of preventive care. Methods: 954 LGBTQ+...

Dignity 2022: The Experience of LGBTQ Older Adults

By Cassandra Cantave Burton There are over 2.4 million LGBT adults over age 50 in the United States — a number expected to double by 2030 to over 5 million, according to Movement Advancement Project (MAP). A vast majority (85%) of older LGBTQ individuals are concerned about discrimination based on sexual orientation. They are also worried about how they will care for themselves and others. Two-thirds believe they will need someone to provide caregiving for them in the future and eight in...

‘Scared of being pushed back into the closet’: Europe’s new LGBT+ retirement communities

By Estelle Nilsson-Julien For many older LGBTQ+ the prospect of moving into a retirement home is a worrying thought. But in Sweden, Spain and France new retirement communities for LGBTQ+ seniors are proving a hit. "Care home staff don't realise that they have LGBTQ+ residents - but based on population estimates we know they do. It's just that residents don't feel comfortable or safe being identified as LGBTQ+", explains Professor Paul Willis, an expert in social care. Older members of the LGBTQ+ community can "be at higher...

Immigration and Adult Children’s Care for Elderly Parents: Evidence from Western Europe

By Andrea Berlanda, Elisabetta Lodigiani & Lorenzo Rocco In this paper, we use the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), complemented with register data on the share of the foreign population in the European regions, to examine the effects of migration on the level of informal care provided by children to their senior parents. Our main results show that migration decreases informal care among daughters with a university degree, while it increases the provision of informal care...