Baby Boomers – By the (Really Big) Numbers!

By CarePatrol

The Baby Boomer generation is defined as people born between 1946 and 1964. Over the course of those 15 years, more than 75.8 million Americans were born. In 1957 alone, there were 4.3 million babies! The peak years were between 1956 and 1961.

This means that in 2011, the oldest Baby Boomers began turning 65.  In fact, according to various reports, 10,000 baby boomers will retire every day for the next 20 years or so. A similar analysis is that another person will turn 65 every 7 seconds.

The average baby boomer was 55 years old in 2010. The full impact of this generation will become more important for assisted living and other aging-related issues through the decade of 2020 – 2030 when the baby boom generation first reaches its mid-70s. By 2030, there will be more than 72 million Americans over the age of 65. This population will be nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. population.

Currently, health care industry reports indicate that about 8 million of the elderly population have some form of disability requiring assistance. This number is projected to be 15 million by 2020. Similarly, by 2030, more than 6 of every 10 boomers will manage more than one chronic condition.

Meanwhile, life expectancy in the U.S. is continuously rising. For women, it is 80 years, and for men, it is 74 years. With better overall health, many of the baby boomers will live far longer than previous generations. According to the US Census Bureau, the American population over 65 years of age will double to 70 million over the next 30 years. According to one projection, the number of people age 85 and older could grow by more than 345% from 5.5 million in 2010 to 19 million in 2050.