Migrants Face Retirement Challenges

Migrants Face Retirement Challenges

A growing number of undocumented immigrants are hitting retirement age without savings or the cushion of Social Security or Medicare, making up a contingent of baby boomers who are financially insecure and poised to strain community services.

 

Many opt to continue working until they are physically unable, while others rely on help from younger family members. Some are making plans to head back to their native countries.

 

"I laugh when people ask me at what age I’m going to retire," said Marta Salazar, 66, who lives in Pasadena, Calif., and arrived illegally from Mexico 22 years ago. "I know I have to work until my body gives out."

 

The population of immigrants in the U.S. without legal status stood at about 10.5 million in 2021, according to a Pew Research Center report. A large portion have lived in the U.S. for years, building lives, buying homes, and having children.

 

While many work under the table, some find jobs in the formal sector, often using fake documents or borrowed identities. Those who do generally pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.

 

Among immigrants living in the U.S. unlawfully, about 99,000 were ages 65 or older in 2022, according to the Center for Migration Studies of New York. Researchers expect that number to grow in coming years if the unauthorized migrant population continues to increase.

 

Unauthorized migrants made a net contribution of about $12 billion to the Social Security system in 2010, according to the Social Security Administration. But they are barred by law from receiving benefits from the program. Several states, including California, Colorado, and Illinois, provide Medicaid or other health coverage to unauthorized migrants who are low-income senior citizens.

 

Immigrant advocates argue that people who have lived and worked in the U.S. for decades deserve assistance in their older years, regardless of legal status. "After giving the best of themselves to this country and to their families, there isn’t anything to help them," said Yanira Cruz, president of the National Hispanic Council on Aging.

 

Advocates of stricter immigration controls say people in the U.S. illegally don’t deserve public assistance, even if they pay Social Security and other taxes. They argue those contributions are more than repaid before retirement by benefits such as emergency services and education for their children.

 

As unauthorized migrants age, their healthcare needs can be significant, Cruz said. They likely haven’t had much preventive care over the years because they typically lack health insurance and often suffer from chronic illnesses.

 

Maria Bravo, 62, who arrived illegally from Mexico 31 years ago and worked at manufacturing and poultry plants in Gainesville, Ga., said she has diabetes and a faulty heart valve. She has received medical attention through a charity care program at a local hospital but needs to generate income to cover medication expenses. So she plans to keep working as long as she can. "There is no retirement plan," she said.

 

Available work for unauthorized migrants tends to wane as they age, said María Marroquín, executive director of the Day Worker Center of Mountain View, in California. More seniors have been showing up at the facility, which supports day laborers with job search and meals, but regularly lose offers to younger competitors.

 

Some advocates are pushing for the governments of immigrants’ home countries to assist them. In April, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network launched a campaign to try to persuade the Mexican government to include its citizens living in the U.S. without legal status under Mexico’s new universal pension program. Backers argue that migrants have sent back billions of dollars to support their home countries’ economies.

 

Francisco Solano, 70, said he plans to return to Veracruz, Mexico, in the next few years after living without legal status in the U.S. for more than 25 years. He has been living with his son in Mountain View, Calif., and picking up day labor when possible, but employers increasingly shun him because of his age. "It isn’t much, but it is something to be able to live off," he said.