Housing crisis hits seniors

The recession is having a particularly devastating impact on seniors who are close to retirement or already retired. More than 600,000 seniors are delinquent on mortgage payments or in foreclosure, according to AARP, and 25.5 million seniors over age 50 have mortgages. Many have had adjustable-rate mortgages or have had their savings depleted by medical expenses. Even those who don’t have home mortgages have smaller retirement nest eggs because the values of their homes have dropped.