Older Adults - The Aging Of America

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 12.4% of the population (approximately thirty-five million people) were sixty-five years of age or older in 2000. From just 4% of the total population in 1900, those age sixty-five and older are projected to account for 20.7% of the population, or 86.8 million people, in the year 2050. (See Table 10.2.)

Baby Boomers

The first children born during the post-World War II "baby boom" (1946–64) will be turning sixty-five in the year 2011. Baby boomers, the largest single generation in the history of the United States, will help swell the age sixty-five and older population to approximately 54.6 million in 2020. (See Table 10.2.)

The Oldest Demographic

Americans age eighty-five and older account for the most rapidly growing age group in the population. Predictions vary as to how fast this "oldest old" segment of the population is increasing. The Census Bureau's prediction is that there will be approximately 20.9 million people age eighty-five and older by the year 2050. (See Table 10.2.) Other demographers forecast more than twice the Census Bureau's estimates for this portion of the general population. Some predict that by mid-century as many as 48.7 million Americans will be over age eighty-five.