Aging in America — Part 1 of 4

For most of American history, growing old was something that happened to a relatively small portion of the population.

That is changing.

Millions of Americans are now living well into their 70s, 80s and beyond. At the same time, the enormous Baby Boom generation is moving through retirement age. The result isn’t simply more older people. It is a fundamental change in the shape of the American population.

And it raises an interesting question:

What happens when a country built largely around younger people becomes an older country?

This Didn’t Happen Overnight

There are two big forces behind America’s aging population.

First, people generally live longer than they did generations ago. Advances in medicine, sanitation, nutrition, cardiovascular care and treatment of chronic diseases have allowed many Americans to survive illnesses that once shortened lives.

Second, the Baby Boom was enormous.

Roughly 76 million Americans were born between 1946 and 1964. That demographic wave moved through American schools, universities, workplaces and housing markets.

Now it is moving through retirement.

By 2030, every surviving member of the Baby Boom generation will be at least 65.

That milestone has consequences far beyond retirement communities.

Think About an 80-Year-Old Differently

One of the mistakes we make when discussing aging is treating everyone over a particular age as though they are the same.

They’re not.

A healthy 72-year-old running a business, an 82-year-old caring for a spouse and a 92-year-old requiring daily assistance have dramatically different lives.

Even the word “elderly” can hide that diversity.

As Americans live longer, we may eventually need to rethink the traditional stages of life.

The old model was fairly simple:

School → Work → Retirement → Old Age

But what happens when retirement can last 20 or 30 years?

What happens when people change careers at 65?

Or travel at 75?

Or help raise grandchildren at 80?

Longer life creates challenges, but it also creates something previous generations rarely had on this scale:

time.

An Older America Needs Different Things

Demographics quietly influence almost everything around us.

An older population needs more healthcare professionals, caregivers and accessible housing.

Transportation becomes important when people stop driving.

Homes designed around stairs and large yards may become impractical.

Communities may need more walkability, public transportation and nearby medical services.

Businesses will discover an enormous market for products that help older adults remain healthy and independent.

Technology will have to become easier to use rather than merely more sophisticated.

And millions of families will face decisions about caring for aging parents.

This isn’t a distant demographic forecast.

It is already happening.

But Aging Isn’t Just a Cost

Discussions about aging often focus almost entirely on Medicare, Social Security and healthcare expenses.

Those issues are real.

But older Americans aren’t simply consumers of public resources.

They work.

They volunteer.

They own businesses.

They provide childcare.

They support charities.

They care for spouses.

They pass knowledge and experience to younger generations.

Many grandparents provide something especially valuable to families: time.

The economic value of those contributions is easy to overlook because much of it never appears on a paycheck.

The Question America Has to Answer

A longer-lived society is, in many ways, an extraordinary achievement.

People surviving diseases that once killed them isn’t a failure.

Living long enough to know your grandchildren—and sometimes your great-grandchildren—isn’t a crisis.

The challenge is figuring out how to organize society around that success.

Housing, healthcare, retirement and employment systems designed decades ago may not fit a world in which living into your 80s becomes increasingly common.

America is getting older.

The important question isn’t whether we can stop that trend.

We can’t.

The question is what kind of country we want to build for the longer lives we’ve created.

Next in Our Aging Population: The Price of Living Longer — what longer retirements mean for Social Security, Medicare, savings and the American worker.