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Factors beyond high mortgage rates are affecting housing affordability for many Americans, according to experts.
The connection between housing costs and wages has been gradually separating over the years, according to C. Kirabo Jackson, an economist and member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Similarly, the number of new housing units built throughout the years has been declining, and the low supply is rooted in restrictive land-use and zoning regulations, according to experts.

Skynesher | E+ | Getty Images

Factors beyond high mortgage rates are affecting housing affordability for many Americans, according to experts.
Almost four years ago, a household earning $59,000 annually could afford a new mortgage without spending more than 30% of their monthly income and with a 10% down payment, according to a recent report by Zillow Group.

That is no longer the case today.
While the typical household in 2024 makes about $81,000 a year, up from $66,000 in 2020, wages have not kept up with housing costs.
“Since January of 2020, the typical mortgage payment on the typical home in the U.S. has nearly doubled,” said Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow.
Nowadays, potential homebuyers need to make about $106,500 a year in order to afford the typical home today, an 80% increase from January 2020, according to Zillow.
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The connection between housing costs and wages has been gradually separating over the years, according to C. Kirabo Jackson, an economist and member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
“Around the mid-’90s, you start to see housing prices sort of separate from median wages in a way that kind of made housing less and less affordable for people who are in the market,” Jackson said.

More supply ‘helps keep prices down’

Tight supply is another reason behind unaffordability. Fewer homes available on the market for would-be buyers keeps real estate prices elevated and, in some local markets, the shortage makes prices climb higher.
The number of new housing units built throughout the years has been declining, and the low supply is rooted in restrictive land-use and zoning regulations, according to experts.
“If we have a supply problem, we really need to have a supply solution,” Divounguy said.
Land-use and building regulations across the country make it difficult in some markets to build new homes, Divounguy said.
And the most important way to improve affordability is to construct more housing in the U.S, he said.

We have a growing economy, we have a growing population. As your population grows, you have to build more housing to accommodate the growth and population

C. Kirabo Jackson
Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers

To increase housing supply, local policymakers would need to lower the barriers for builders by easing land-use and zoning regulations, which determine factors like the maximum height of a building or the minimum size of a lot, Jackson said.
For example: Some local areas may say you can’t construct buildings more than three stories high in a particular area, which means high-rise buildings that could house about 100 people are out of the question.
“Instead, you have to have a house that maybe has five people,” Jackson said. “The more supply you have helps keep prices down. So the more housing that you make available, the more that’s going to sort of ease price pressures.”
While increasing the housing density in an area can boost affordability, land-use and zoning regulations, which inherently determines an area’s housing supply, is often decided at a local level, he said.

“If you really wanted to expand the supply of housing, one of the most immediate ways one could do that would be to ease up on these zoning restrictions and allow the construction of affordable housing in areas that currently would not be allowed under local land-use rules,” Jackson said.
Some areas have already begun to see a boom in new housing inventory due to relaxed zoning rules, according to Divounguy. Markets that allow builders to make smaller, attached homes as opposed to detached, single-family housing are seeing a surge in new construction, like markets in the South.
“Markets that have more restrictive land-use, regulations, zoning rules are markets where you’re not seeing the type of new construction necessary to keep up with demand for housing,” Divounguy said.
While local zoning rules are not under the federal government’s control, the administration is working toward local areas to be more flexible by providing financial incentives to help developers build more affordable housing, said Jackson.
“We have a growing economy, we have a growing population. As your population grows, you have to build more housing to accommodate the growth and population,” Jackson said.

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Women and Wealth Events
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Today, a woman just starting out will earn $399,600 less over a 40-year career compared to men, according to a new analysis by the National Women’s Law Center.
For Black women, this lifetime wage gap totals $884,800, and for Latina women, the losses are $1,218,000.
“Employers need to take a hard look at what’s happening within their walls and take action to remedy it,” says Jasmine Tucker, the National Women’s Law Center’s vice president of research.

Equal Pay Day is a reminder of the persistent income inequality between men and women.
As it stands, women earn just 84 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the National Women’s Law Center.

“When you look at the cent number, it looks like it’s small,” Jasmine Tucker, the National Women’s Law Center’s vice president of research, said of the shortfall. “I don’t think that does justice to the actual losses.”
This year, March 12 marks just how far into the new year full-time female workers have to keep working to make what their male counterparts typically made in just the previous year, also known as the gender pay gap.
Over time, the inequality is magnified. Based on today’s wage gap, a woman just starting out will lose $399,600 over a 40-year career, according to the National Women’s Law Center.

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Here’s a look at more coverage in CNBC’s Women & Wealth special report, where we explore ways women can increase income, save and make the most of opportunities.

The pay gap worsens significantly for Black and Latina women.
For Black women, the lifetime wage gap adds up to $884,800, and for Latina women, the losses total $1,218,000, the nonprofit advocacy group found.

That also means that Black and Latina would have to work full time, year-round to nearly age 80 or 90 to make what white non-Hispanic men are paid by age 60, Tucker said, “or they forfeit over $1 million in losses.”

Why the gender pay gap persists

There is no single explanation for why progress toward narrowing the pay gap has mostly stalled, according to a separate report by the Pew Research Center. Some contributing factors: Women are still more likely to pursue careers in lower-paying industries, and to take time out of the labor force or reduce the number of hours worked because of caretaking responsibilities — often referred to as the “motherhood penalty.”
Systemic bias has also played a role.
Women of color remain underrepresented in higher paying occupations.
“Even when Black women are in the same roles, they are paid less,” said Ofronama Biu, principle research associate at the Urban Institute.
In addition to wages, there is also a benefit gap, Biu said.
“Pay is important but there are other things that impact people’s economic security,” such as retirement accounts, paid time off and health care, she said.

What it takes to achieve progress

No “one thing” is going to close the wage gap, Tucker said. However, research shows that there are some measures that can help, including the recent rise in pay transparency laws enacted by states and municipalities.
The idea is that pay transparency will bring about pay equity — equal compensation for work of equal or comparable value, regardless of worker gender, race or other demographic category.
“Employers do not need to wait for states to pass laws to put some of these tools into practice,” Tucker said. “Employers need to take a hard look at what’s happening within their walls and take action to remedy it.”

“Companies need to be open about what they are doing and their plans — it really starts and ends at the corporate level,” Lauren Sanfilippo, senior investment strategist at Bank of America’s Chief Investment Office, also said.
Yet, “to wait around for those indicators is not the way to find progress fastest,” Sanfilippo added.
In the meantime, Sanfilippo advises women to keep a close eye on workplace practices and pay. “You want to be paid according to what you are doing and what you are offering the firm.” More

IRS Direct File is now fully open in 12 pilot states for “simple tax situations,” according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. 
The Treasury estimates the Direct File pilot could cover about one-third of federal tax returns or 19 million taxpayers, and hopes 100,000 filers will participate this season.

miniseries | Getty

After weeks of testing with roughly 1,500 returns, Direct File, a free tax filing program from the IRS, is now fully open in 12 pilot states, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
While the pilot focuses on “simple tax situations,” the Treasury estimates the pilot could cover about one-third of tax situations for 19 million taxpayers. The Spanish language version opens later on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET. 

“Dozens of countries have provided free tax options to their citizens for years,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said during a press call on Monday. “American taxpayers who want to file their taxes for free directly with the IRS should have that option.”
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Treasury officials hope at least 100,000 taxpayers will participate in the Direct File pilot for 2023 filings as the agency makes future decisions about the program, Adeyemo said.
Within five years, the program could save the average filer $160 per year, or a collective $11 billion annually including tax prep fees and time, according to a report from the Economic Security Project released Monday.

IRS Direct File pilot states

The IRS Direct File pilot states include Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Alaska was originally included but is no longer part of the pilot.

The soft launch and limited rollout were intentionally designed to capture data to make improvements and decisions for the future, a senior administrative official said.
Direct File pilot doesn’t support state returns, but the software will guide users from Arizona, California, Massachusetts and New York to a state-supported tax-prep tool.

Direct File pilot open to limited filers

You may qualify for Direct File with a simple, straightforward return, with limited types of income, credits and deductions, according to IRS officials.
The pilot will only accept Form W-2 wages, Social Security retirement income, unemployment earnings and interest of $1,500 or less. This excludes filers with contract income reported via Form 1099-NEC, gig economy workers or self-employed filers.
To qualify, you must claim the standard deduction, which is $13,850 for single filers and $27,700 for married couples filing jointly for 2023.
Direct File only accepts a few credits: the earned income tax credit, child tax credit and credit for other dependents. The software also accepts deductions for student loan interest and educator expenses.

Scrutiny of IRS Direct File

The Direct File pilot launch comes amid pushback from the private tax filing industry. There has also been scrutiny from some Republicans who have questioned the agency’s authority to create the program.
When asked about Direct File during a House Ways and Means hearing in February, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said the agency has “a responsibility and an authority to offer taxpayers different approaches for how to meet their tax obligation.”
Taxpayers have several free filing options this season, including IRS Free File, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, Tax Counseling for the Elderly and private company software. More

President Joe Biden proposed expanding access to free community college across the U.S., and other initiatives to make higher education less costly.
In the president’s budget for fiscal 2025, Biden called for increasing the amount of Pell Grants and establishing a “Reducing the Costs of College Fund.”

Woman with hands raised in the classroom
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President Joe Biden has proposed expanding free community college across the U.S., and other initiatives to lower higher education costs.
The plans, announced Monday as part of Biden’s $7.3 trillion budget for fiscal 2025, face slim chances of becoming law this year with Republicans in control of the House.

Still, the budget reflects the president’s policy priorities as he seeks reelection in November.
“With these investments, we can deliver an excellent education to all students, improve learning conditions, build pathways to college and careers, and increase postsecondary education affordability and access,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
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After the Supreme Court blocked Biden’s sweeping student loan forgiveness plan in June, his administration has explored all of its existing authority to leave people with less student debt. It has now canceled debt for almost 3.9 million borrowers, totaling $138 billion in relief, through fixes to forgiveness programs that borrowers historically had trouble accessing.
The president’s budget builds on those efforts by further addressing the student loan crisis and offering more ways for people to get through their schooling without going into debt.

Biden’s presumptive Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, called for slashing the U.S. Department of Education’s budget during his term in the White House.
In contrast, Biden is requesting additional funding for the agency — $82.4 billion for 2025, a $3.1 billion increase from 2024 — to subsidize educational costs for many Americans.

Bigger Pell Grants, fee cuts on student loans

Biden’s budget calls for increasing the discretionary maximum Pell Grant to $8,145, a $750 raise from the current level.
The federal Pell Grant program, signed into law in 1965, is one of the largest sources of financial aid available to college students. More than 6 million undergraduate students received the grants in 2020, and over 90% of recipients come from families with household incomes below $60,000, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
“We fully support the administration’s commitment to increasing the Pell Grant,” said Jaylon Herbin, director of federal campaigns at the Center for Responsible Lending.
“This move signifies a crucial step toward enhancing access to education for all borrowers, but especially borrowers of color in underserved communities,” Herbin said.

The president’s budget also calls for eliminating origination fees on federal student loans, and $2.66 billion to support student loan borrowers as they return to repayment, including improvements to loan servicing.
Origination loan fees range roughly from 1% to 4% of the total amount borrowed.
“[An origination fee] not only reduces the amount of loan funds applied to their college bill, but it also adds expense and confusion to the process,” said Elaine Rubin, director of corporate communications at Edvisors.

Expand free community college

The president’s budget would expand free community college across the U.S. through a federal-state partnership.
“The free community college proposal is a big development,” Kantrowitz said. Subsidized community college, he added, “will make college much more affordable for low-income students and help them transition quickly into good-paying jobs.”

In addition, Biden proposes providing two years of subsidized tuition for students from families earning less than $125,000 and enrolled in certain schools, including a historically Black college and university and a tribally controlled college and university.
Biden also wants to establish a $12 billion “Reducing the Costs of College Fund,” which would create a new $7.2 billion program to provide states with matching funds to offer at least 12 free postsecondary credits to students in certain career-connected programs.

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Former President Donald Trump suggested he may consider cutting “entitlements” in a CNBC interview on Monday.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden flatly rejected Trump’s suggestion, while releasing a budget proposal aimed at strengthening Social Security and Medicare.
“Social Security is on the ballot this November,” one advocate for the programs said.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump watches a video of President Joe Biden playing during a rally for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) at the Miami-Dade Country Fair and Exposition on November 6, 2022 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden issued opposing views on the future of Social Security on Monday.
While Trump suggested the possibility of cutting “entitlements” on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Biden issued a 2025 budget proposal that states, “No benefit cuts.”

“Make no mistake: Social Security is on the ballot this November,” Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for expanding the program, said in a statement.
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Social Security and Medicare face funding shortfalls that will require benefit cuts within the next decade if Congress does not act. Social Security’s combined funds will be depleted in 2034, at which point 80% of benefits may be payable, the program’s trustees projected last year. The Medicare hospital insurance fund, which covers Medicare Part A, may be depleted in 2031.

What we know about Trump’s stance on Social Security

In interviews during his campaign, Trump has generally rejected the idea of changes to Social Security, which he has said would hurt senior citizens.
However, in a Monday interview with CNBC, Trump said that reining in spending on the program could be one way to improve the government’s budget.

“There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and bad management of entitlements,” Trump said.
Trump did not elaborate on the potential changes he had in mind.

President Biden responded to the interview by posting on X: “Not on my watch.”
It’s not the first time Trump has suggested cuts to Social Security.
In 2020, Trump proposed a budget as president that included an estimated $71 billion in cuts to the program, with changes some advocates feared would make it more difficult to stay on disability benefits. Also in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump suggested a payroll tax cut aimed at putting more money in workers’ paychecks. However, such a policy would reduce the tax income Social Security and Medicare rely on.
In recent interviews, Trump has mostly rejected the idea of changing Social Security.
“You don’t have to touch Social Security,” Trump said during a recent Fox News town hall, suggesting other changes could come before cuts that would hurt senior citizens.

How Biden aims to strengthen Social Security

During the State of the Union on Thursday, President Biden promised to protect both Social Security and Medicare from cuts.
“If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop them,” Biden said, while touting plans to “make the wealthy pay their fair share” through additional payroll taxes on people earning more than $400,000.
On Monday, Biden reaffirmed his commitment with the release of a fiscal year 2025 budget proposal that states, “No benefit cuts.”
“The president opposes policies that cut benefits, as well as proposals to privatize Social Security,” the budget states.
Instead, the budget calls for extending the solvency of both Social Security and Medicare by requiring high income workers to pay taxes toward the program on more of their income.
Biden calls for improving Social Security benefits, as well as Supplemental Security Income benefits, for seniors and people with disabilities, particularly those with low incomes.

The president also proposes increased funding for the Social Security Administration with the goal of increasing access to benefits. That includes $15.4 billion for the agency’s operations, an almost 9% increase from its fiscal year 2023 funding level.
“The chronically underfunded agency has been struggling to provide proper customer service — including field office closures, long wait times on SSA’s 1-800 phone line, and excessive delays in disability insurance hearings,” Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement.
“It is past time for SSA to receive truly adequate funding, and the president’s budget represents a major step in that direction,” he said.
Like Biden, Democrats on Capitol Hill have proposed bills to raise taxes on the wealthy and enhance benefits. Meanwhile, House Republicans last week advanced a budget that calls for a bipartisan commission to evaluate Social Security and Medicare’s solvency issues.
Social Security has been criticized for problems with overpayments that have led beneficiaries to owe money back to the government.
Democrats have argued the underfunded agency needs an increase in funds to address those problems. Republicans, on the other hand, have urged the Social Security Administration to better use the resources already available to the agency. More

A decadeslong effort to mass produce furniture at a lower cost has led to a decline in quality, overall, experts say.
What was lost along the way was “repairability,” says CoCo Ree Lemery, a professor of furniture and industrial design at Purdue University. “When something reaches the end of its lifespan, it just dies.”
Here’s how to find pieces that will stand the test of time, while keeping affordability in check.

Hispanolistic | E+ | Getty Images

Don’t expect the sofa you buy today to go the distance.
“In the last 15 years, there’s been a shift to disposable furniture,” according to David Koehler, chairman of Johnny Janosik, a furniture retailer with stores in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

For most consumers, that’s okay. Attitudes have changed, said Koehler, who is a member of the Home Furnishings Association.
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Young adults, especially, are less likely to be homeowners and more likely to move often. They’re also more likely to feel financially strapped and less willing to splurge on furniture, Koehler said.
However, “the old expression, ‘you get what you pay for,’ is very true in the furniture industry,” he said.

Changes to materials reduced ‘repairability’

A decadeslong effort to mass produce furniture at a lower cost has led to a decline in quality, overall, experts say.

The rapid expansion of the middle class after World War II made owning a home easier and drove demand for less expensive home furniture, according to CoCo Ree Lemery, a visiting professor of furniture and industrial design at Purdue University.
“We were introduced to plywood. Then we really saw a material degradation,” Lemery said of the rise in popularity of the composite material made from gluing together thin pieces of wood veneer.
Medium density fiberboard, which is another form of engineered wood commonly known as MDF, followed, and then particle board, or recycled wood chips fused together, along with synthetic foams and glues to keep production more affordable.
In each case, substitute materials were used to make furniture that was less expensive but also less durable than the solid wood pieces that previous generations bought.

Increasingly, furniture is also now shipped and sold in flat-packs, which makes transporting it cheaper. In some cases, customers assemble the furniture themselves, keeping labor costs down.
But at every stage, there are trade-offs. “The more that it breaks down into small pieces, the quality is going to be less, period, end of story,” Lemery said.
What was lost along the way was “repairability,” she said. Now, “when [furniture] reaches the end of its lifespan, it just dies.”
Mark Schumacher, CEO of the Home Furnishings Association, referred CNBC to Koehler for comment.

How to find quality furniture

Still, consumers are more likely to prefer pieces that are affordable, even though they may not stand the test of time.
“With the rise of direct-to-consumer, now customers are only buying based on aesthetics and trends,” Lemery said. “In that atmosphere, of course you are going to go for the cheapest price tag.”
The furniture industry was not immune to supply chain issues brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused prices to spike due to high demand and low supply.
Yet, furniture has not experienced the same price increases that other consumer goods have over the years, including cars and housing. “In the 1980s, you could buy a sofa for $399. You could probably still buy a sofa for $399,” Koehler said.

But choosing a more expensive piece isn’t necessarily a guarantee of better quality, Koehler said.
“To find quality, you need to do your research,” he said. “In our industry, it’s important to see it, feel it, touch it, so you know what you are getting.”
Often, the telltale signs are in the construction, Koehler said. For example, open a dresser and look for dovetail drawers — a traditional joinery technique of interlocking wood — rather than pieces that are glued or stapled together. You can also check the furniture description to see whether it is made from solid wood or particle board under a veneer.

Best ways to finance a furniture purchase

When shopping around for new furniture, make sure you’re getting a piece for a good value and, ideally, save for it in advance, said certified financial planner Carolyn McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida.
If you need to spread out the purchase of a big-ticket piece of furniture, consider a no-interest financing deal from the retailer or manufacturer that you know you can pay off within the agreed timeframe.
“They might give you a year interest free. Make sure that you have the ability to pay it off in that year because if you don’t, the interests are huge, huge, huge,” said McClanahan, who is also a CNBC Financial Advisor Council member. 
1. Buy Now, Pay Later: Similar to buying a new household appliance, a Buy Now, Pay Later program can help you spread out the cost of a pricey piece of furniture into monthly payments. Make sure to plan accordingly because if you have more than one BNPL running at the same time, you risk “overdrawing your account,” Sara Rathner, a credit cards expert at NerdWallet, recently told CNBC.
2. In-store sales, financing options: Furniture retailers may offer major discounts on certain products for seasonal sales, Rathner said. In-store financing options might also be available, such as layaway programs or retail credit cards with a deferred interest. Make sure you are able to pay off the product by the end of the agreed timeframe. Otherwise, high interest rate fees will stack on top of your dues.
3. Two types of loans: Personal loans can be an option. To qualify, you must have “decent credit,” said McClanahan. Unlike personal loans, a secured loan requires collateral to receive the money. It’s similar to buying a car: “If you don’t pay for the car, then [the bank] repossesses your car,” she said. In a personal loan, “they can’t reclaim your soul.” However, the interest in a secured loan is a bit lower because they have the collateral. 
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Nearly half of parents with a child over 18 provide them with at least some financial support, according to a recent report.
For parents, however, supporting grown children can be a substantial drain at a time when their own retirement security is at risk. 

Many argue it’s harder today for young adults to make it on their own.
In addition to soaring food and housing costs, millennials and Generation Z face other financial challenges their parents did not at that age. Not only are their wages lower than their parents’ earnings when they were in their 20s and 30s, after adjusting for inflation, but they are also carrying larger student loan balances, recent reports show.

So parents are stepping in to help. From buying food to paying for a cell phone plan or covering health and auto insurance, nearly half, or 47%, of parents with a child over 18 provide them with at least some financial support, according to a report by Savings.com.
These parents are shelling out $1,384 a month, on average, the report found.
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By other measures, young adults are doing well.
Compared with their parents at this age, Gen Zers are more likely to have a college degree and work full time — particularly women, who are not only achieving increasing levels of education but also earning more.   

And yet, 61% of adult children still living at home don’t contribute to household expenses at all, Savings.com found. 

‘Create boundaries and figure out a balance’

For parents, however, supporting grown children can be a substantial drain at a time when their own retirement security is at risk. 
In fact, 58% of parents said they have sacrificed their own financial security for the sake of their adult children, a jump from 37% of parents a year earlier, Savings.com also found.
Parents should “have a good financial plan for themselves, then budget how much they can give their kids,” said Carolyn McClanahan, a certified financial planner and founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida.

McClanahan, who also is a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council, suggests parents set parameters and a time frame before providing financial support that takes into account their own retirement plans or other financial goals, such as paying off debt or saving for long-term health-care costs.
“You need to create boundaries and figure out a balance.”
As a general rule, you should set aside money for your retirement and emergency fund first, she said.
Isabel Barrow, the director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines, advises clients to agree on a deal: Parents will offer some financial support to their children, if their kids are also making decisions that support their own financial future in other ways, such as contributing 10% of their salary to a 401(k) at work.
“If they have income, they have a job, they can save. That needs to be their commitment to you,” Barrow said.
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Despite some voters’ misgivings, President Joe Biden’s age is less of an anomaly than a sign of the times, experts say.
Workers 75 and older are the fastest-growing age group in the labor market.
The 118th Congress, meanwhile, is one of the oldest in history. There are five senators who are 80 or older, including Bernie Sanders, 82, and Chuck Grassley, 90.

U.S. President Joe Biden stops to talk to journalists about new Russian sanctions as he departs the White House on February 20, 2024 in Washington, DC. Biden is traveling to California to attend campaign receptions across the state. 
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

Should he prevail in the upcoming presidential election, President Joe Biden, 81, would become the nation’s first octogenarian elected commander in chief.
Despite the misgivings that fact has sparked among some voters, Biden’s age is less of an anomaly than a sign of the times, experts say.

“There are lots and lots of people who still work in their 80s,” said Dr. Dennis Selkoe, a Harvard Medical School professor who has won awards for his advances in aging research. “It’s more common than ever.”
Indeed, workers 75 and older are the fastest-growing age group in the labor market, more than quadrupling in size since 1964, according to the Pew Research Center.
If former president Donald Trump win in November, he’d be 78 at that point, and would become the second U.S. president to serve in his 80s. The 118th Congress, meanwhile, is one of the oldest in history. There are currently five senators who are 80 or older, including Bernie Sanders, 82, and Chuck Grassley, 90.
“People are just living longer,” said Joel Kramer, director of neuropsychology at the University of California San Francisco’s Memory and Aging Center. “So you’re going see a lot more people in their 80s and 90s who are rock stars.”
(On a literal note, Mick Jagger, who turned 80 last summer, is on tour this year and expected to perform in 16 cities across the United States.)

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Still, Biden — already the oldest president in the nation’s history — is dealing with the perception that his age is a problem.
Almost two-thirds, 62%, of voters say they have major concerns that Biden does not have the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term, according to a national NBC News poll conducted in January. The majority of those polled who voted for Biden in 2020 now say he’s too old to be effective, a New York Times/Siena College poll recently found.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
But how valid are these worries? To find out, CNBC spoke to neurologists and aging experts about the human brain and our ability to work in our 80s.

‘Occasional gaffes’ do not reflect anything

The most recent blow Biden faced over his age came from the Feb. 8 special counsel’s report about his handling of classified documents. Robert K. Hur wrote that no criminal charges against the president were warranted, but he referred to Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Shortly after those findings were publicized, Biden defended himself from the White House.
“My memory is fine,” Biden said. But then he mistakenly called the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the “president of Mexico” while discussing the Israeli-Gaza war.
Concerns over his age were hardly put to bed.

However, such “occasional gaffes” do not indicate anything about an older person’s competence, said John Walsh, an associate professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California.
“Fluid intelligence” slows with aging, Walsh said. That means people’s reaction times might not be as fast as when they were young, or they might need more time to remember a particular name or date, he said. That knowledge hasn’t been lost, though.
Aging experts also refer to this as “benign forgetfulness,” and say it’s a normal part of the aging process.
“Given more time, they perform at the same level as their younger counterparts,” Walsh said.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 7, 2024. 
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters

In fact, the hardest thing for people to remember as they get older are names, Selkoe said.
“But that does not mean there are other aspects of their cognitive function that aren’t quite strong,” he said.
People in highly stressful and emotional jobs are especially likely to forget certain details, Selkoe said.
“I’ve seen some very famous politicians in my clinic,” he said. “Those people are under a lot of pressure and would have more difficulty in quickly coming up with what is otherwise rather minor information.”
The special counsel interviewed Biden right after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

You’re going see a lot more people in their 80s and 90s who are rock stars.

Joel Kramer
director of neuropsychology at the University of California San Francisco’s Memory and Aging Center

Ageism, or the discrimination of someone based on their age, may lead people to pay outsized attention to Biden’s missteps, Walsh said. Nearly 80% of older workers say they’ve seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace, according to research by AARP.
“People fear aging,” Walsh said. “And we do not like the way aging looks and jump to conclusions that we all age the same, in a bad way.”
The research tells a different story.

Age and job performance are largely unrelated

At the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, Kramer said he sees lots of people who are still fully mentally and physically competent in their 80s and 90s.
“Many of them still work,” Kramer said. “What is striking is the variability: There are always people in their 80s who are doing better than people in their 50s.”

Age and job performance are largely unrelated, said Philip Taylor, a professor at the University of Warwick who studies the aging workforce
“There are areas where older workers outperform younger workers,” Taylor said.
Employees later in their careers tend to be more engaged with the well-being of their organization and are likelier to arrive to work on time, he said. Some studies also show that people’s vocabularies increase with age and that creativity doesn’t wane.
“Think about artists who remain creative at very late ages,” Taylor said. (The painter Alex Katz is still working in his late 90s, and Toni Morrison published her last novel at 84.)
“The idea that your most creative years are behind you when you enter your 50s?” Taylor said. “It is not so.”

There are areas where older workers outperform younger workers.

Philip Taylor
University of Warwick professor

“Crystallized intelligence,” considered wisdom, also grows throughout our life, experts say.
“With that wisdom and experience, the older person may be able to sort through possible solutions and come up with an effective strategy for dealing with a situation faster and more successfully than a younger person,” Walsh said.
Selkoe seconded that.
“People do get better cognitive function in some areas,” he said. “More in their emotional intelligence, [they’re] less likely to be bent out of shape by various events because they’ve experienced them all over decades.”

People fear aging.

John Walsh
associate professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California

However, Taylor was reluctant of framing any age group as better than another. Ageism hurts younger people too, he said.
“Age is just a really poor proxy for performance at work,” he said. “When people ask me about these things, I tell them if you want to make a decision about who to hire, don’t make it based on their age.”
In Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday evening, the president said that at the beginning of his career — he became a senator at 29 — he was told that he was “too young.”
“By the way, they didn’t let me on the Senate elevator for votes sometimes,” Biden said.

Senator of Joseph Biden. Undated color slide circa. 1973.
Bettmann | Getty Images

Taylor, who has studied older workers for decades, said he found it depressing that the debate in the U.S. focused so much on Biden’s age, with discriminatory words like “elderly” and “senile” being tossed around.
“I think it’s a time for celebration,” Taylor said. “I’ve seen older people talking themselves out of working. They say, ‘It’s too late for me. No one will hire me.’ What the president is telling people is, ‘I can keep contributing to society.'”
This article was written with the support of a journalism fellowship from The Gerontological Society of America, The Journalists Network on Generations and the The Silver Century Foundation.

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