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America’s Elderly Are A Strong Population

Every year since May 1963, Older Americans Month has been honored with a presidential proclamation. Former President George W. Bush stated during Older Americans Month in 2005, “Older Americans help others to understand the past, and they teach timeless lessons of courage, endurance and love. Through their legacy of patriotism, service, and responsibility, America's seniors also unite families and communities and serve as role models for younger generations.

In observance of Older Americans Month 2010, here are some interesting facts and revealing statistics regarding America’s amazing centenarians (100 years and older –there are lots of them!) and the US aging population in general.

US

Centenarians

The United States currently has the greatest number of centenarians in the world, estimated at 96,548 on November 1, 2008. (Bureau of the Census)

“Men and women who are 100 or older tend to have something else in common – an extroverted personality,” says Thomas T. Perls, M.D., M.P.H., the director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University. “Centenarians will often have many friends, strong ties to relatives and a healthy dose of self-esteem.” 

Some research suggests that centenarian offspring are more likely to age in better cardiovascular health than their peers.

In John W. Santrock's book "A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development" there are five factors that research has suggested that are most important to longevity in centenarians: 

1) heredity and family history 

2) health, i.e. weight, diet, whether or not a person smokes, amount of exercise 

3) education level

4) personality 

5) lifestyle. 



The book also noted that the largest population of centenarians are women who have never been married. Also, people who have been through traumatic life events, such as Holocaust survivors, learn to cope better with stress and poverty and are more likely to reach centenarian status.

US Aging Population
In 2006, 37 million people age 65 and over lived in the United States, accounting for just over 12 percent of the total population. Over the 20th century, the older population grew from 3 million to 37 million. The oldest-old population (those age 85 and over) grew from just over 100,000 in 1900 to 5.3 million in 2006.

86.7 million -- Projected number of people 65 and over in the year 2050. People in this age group would comprise 21% of America's total population at that time.
147% -- Projected percentage increase in the 65-and-over population between 2000 and 2050. By comparison, the population as a whole would have increased by only 49% over the same period.


Jobs


4.6 million -- Number of people age 65 and over who are still employed. This amounts to 13% of all people in this age group.


Education


77% -- Proportion of people ages 65 to 69 who graduated from high school. 73% of people ages 70 to 74 and 68% of those 75 and over are also high school graduates.

20% -- Percentage of the population ages 65 to 69 who have a bachelor's degree or higher education. Among people ages 70 to 74, 19% have achieved this level of education; for those 75 and over, 15% are college graduates.



Income and Wealth

$108,885 -- Median net worth of households with householders 65 and over. In contrast, householders under the age of 35 had a median household net worth of $7,240.

$23,787 -- Median income of households with householders 65 and over, statistically unchanged, in real terms, from the previous year.

10.2% -- Poverty rate for people 65 and over.

Serving Our Nation
9.7 million -- Estimated number of people age 65 and over who are military veterans.

[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]