An aging lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population in the U.S. faces anxieties about retirement that are significantly greater than other Americans who are nearing retirement.

That is according to a survey by the Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders (SAGE) that polled 1,857 LGBT Americans and 519 non-LGBT Americans and compared the responses between the two populations.

The study identified four major areas in which older LGBT adults were more concerned about retirement than their non-LGBT counterparts: Financial security, personal support networks, health care and housing concerns.

• In terms of financial security, 42 percent of LGBT people reported a fear that that they would outlive the money they had saved for retirement, whereas only a quarter of non-LGBT respondents reported the same concern. Forty-four percent said they were very or extremely concerned that they would have to continue working well into retirement age, whereas only 26 percent of non-LGBT people did. 

• Thirty-two percent of older LGBT adults reported being very or extremely concerned about being lonely and growing old alone, whereas only 19 percent of non-LGBT people did. Older LGBT people are also more likely to live alone than older non-LGBT people. A large number of those polled saw life in an LGBT-friendly retirement home as an appealing option. 

• Health care concerns were especially prevalent among aging transgender adults, 65 percent of whom expressed a fear that their access to health care would become limited as they grew older. Additionally, 40 percent of single older LGBT and 40 percent of LGBT people in their 60s and 70s reported keeping their sexual orientation a secret from their health care provider. According to SAGE Executive Director Mike Adams health care concerns more prevalent in the LGBT community – such as substance abuse and a higher rate of HIV infection – create added anxiety about the need for adequate health care while aging. 

• Thirteen percent of LGBT adults polled and 25 percent of transgender adults reported having experienced housing discrimination at some point in their lives on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, leading to a fear of precarious housing situations during retirement.

According to the study, lifetime employment discrimination directed at LGBT adults contributes both to smaller savings and a higher rate of poverty, thus increasing fears as the population ages.