Welcome back!
In the I’m-not-really-too-surprised department, the US Census Bureau released data recently indicating that the world is on the brink of an explosion of senior citizens throughout the world and in the US.
We have known for quite some time that the baby boomer tsunami was coming through, so it’s not really a surprise that the US must gear up for the increase, by some estimates 40 percent in the next five years.
But it is interesting that the world senior age group will triple by 2050.
The increase of babies born between 1946 and 1964 was blamed, so to speak, on World War II. When the men came back from war, a new industry was created.
By 2050, the 65 and older population in the US will more than double, increasing from 39 million today to 89 million. Obviously this increase is going to present quite a challenge to health providers, families, and society in general.
The Social Security system is already struggling because of the sheer number of baby boomers who are now eligible to sign up. Many question whether SSI will even be around in the not too distant future. These figures support that concern.
If there is any good news to the release of these findings, it is that at least everyone knows ahead of time that there is a huge challenge presenting itself. Now, we will see if policymakers and others are willing and able to meet that challenge.
What do you think? What should society do to prepare for the huge growth in the senior populations in the coming decades?
