Bette Davis was diagnosed with cancer when she was 75 years old, and less than two weeks later, she suffered a stroke. In failing physical health, the cantankerous actress remarked that “old age is no place for sissies.”

It’s also no place for cowards when it comes to financial health.

Nearly two-thirds of Maine’s seniors rely on Social Security for at least half of their annual income, and a full third of Mainers over age 65 rely on Social Security as their sole source of income.

According to the Social Security Administration, the average monthly income for retired workers was $1,177 last year, or $14,124 for the year.

That’s a staggeringly sad statistic for that third of seniors who have no financial cushion and face the reality of paying for a year’s worth of food, housing, clothing, utilities and prescriptions on what amounts to minimum wage.

Every senior’s circumstance is different, of course, and some seniors who find themselves in this position are there because of their own poor financial planning, but many find themselves living in poverty because of circumstances beyond their control.

No matter what the circumstance, these seniors are among the state’s poorest residents and many need financial assistance, whether through municipal General Assistance or state social services, to meet their most basic human needs.

Napoleon Hill, one of the nation’s original self-help writers who authored the best-selling “Think and Grow Rich” in 1937, wrote, “The most common cause of fear of old age is associated with the possibility of poverty.”

It’s a very real fear for too many people.

According to a recent AARP survey conducted by Market Decisions, in the past year a third of all adult Mainers — 18 and older — experienced difficulty paying for food, housing and medicine.

In that same period, a slightly higher figure — 36 percent — had trouble paying for utilities, including heat and phone service.

What’s particularly troubling about the survey results is that adults ages 30 to 39 were most likely to report having trouble paying bills (46 percent), as compared to adults 40 to 49 years (37 percent) and those ages 50 to 59 (43 percent). The least likely to say they had trouble paying bills were those age 60 and over, at 17 percent.

If so many younger Mainers are experiencing this degree of financial stress in their earning years, it’s unlikely that they will have the resources to build a comfortable retirement nest egg and more likely that they will continue their life of poverty into what is supposed to be their “golden” years.

AARP found that the financial stress is stronger in central than in southern Maine, and is strongest among those with the least education.

This early financial stress turns into fear of the cost of aging.

Among those surveyed, AARP found that 22 percent of adult Mainers would “most likely” cast votes for candidates who worked to maintain health and long-term care services — even if it means raising taxes — easing the financial fear that comes with diminished health. A greater number, 42 percent, were “more likely” to do the same, which means two-thirds of Mainers (double the percentage of people who expressed fear they could not pay their bills) lean toward preserving public health and long-term care services.

Unfortunately, the cost of providing these services is staggering, with no real hope of getting any more affordable, so it’s encouraging to see great interest among Mainers included in the AARP survey to have their lawmakers work on “improving access” to programs that allow people to remain in their homes as they age.

Health care workers have found that the physical and mental health of the elderly is generally better when they’re able to stay home as they age, so there’s more than financial benefit at play here if we work toward better aging at home instead of automated institutional care.

The challenge for legislators as they work to reduce Maine Department of Health and Human Services spending in the coming months is to do so while keeping in mind the public’s very real desire to age better, age without fear and age at home.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.