You young folks, if you're average, can expect to live 18.7 more years after celebrating your 65th birthday. That's a seven-year bonus when you compare the gain with folks who reached 65 in 1900.
Here's another positive note. The life expectancy for those who reach 85 is now 92.2 years for women and 91.1 years for men.
Sounds pretty good, but elders in Japan, Canada and France do even better. Maybe it's the sake, the wine, the cool climate.
Worldwide, about 506 million people had topped the 65-year mark as of mid-2008. By 2040, that number will hit 1.3 billion, according to "An Aging World: 2008" study developed by the National Institute on Aging and produced by the U.S. Census Bureau. The proportion of older people will double from 7 percent to 14 percent in that time frame.
"Aging is affecting every country in every part of the world," said Richard Suzman, Ph.D., director of the institute's Behavioral and Social Research Division. In a bit of understatement, he added, "Global aging is changing the social and economic nature of the planet and presenting difficult challenges. . . Within 10 years, for the first time in human history, there will be more people aged 65 and older than children under 5. . . "
The most rapid increases in the number of elders are in developing countries. The fastest growing portion of the total population is the people 80 and up. This segment will increase 233 percent by 2040. China and India have almost one-third of the 65-and-older population, the study determined.
One sidelight: 20 percent of the women in the U.S. in 2006 had no biologic children. "These data raise questions about the provision of care when this cohort reaches advanced ages," the report stated.
The U.S. Census Bureau notes that baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) will start turning 65 next year. The 65-and-up U.S. population in 2040 is projected to be twice as large as in 2000, growing from 35 million to 71.5 million and representing nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. population.
Now if the bureau could just let Congress know about this development and its possible impact on Social Security, Medicare and a few other programs.
Comments