Pew – “After rising steadily for nearly a century, the share of older Americans who live alone has fallen since 1990, largely because women ages 65 to 84 are increasingly likely to live with their spouse or their children. The likelihood of living alone has grown since 1990 for older men and for women ages 85 and up. Between 1900 and 1990, the share of adults ages 65 and older living alone increased nearly fivefold, from 6% to 29%. This growth was spurred by a host of factors, including improved health and longevity among older Americans and the economic security that came with social safety net programs such as Social Security and Medicare. A new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data finds that from 1990 to 2014, the share of older adults living alone declined by 3 percentage points, to 26%. Among older women, the share declined to 32% in 2014 from 38% in 1990. Among older men, the share living alone ticked upward to 18% in 2014 from 15% in 1990…”