An article in Thursday's New York Times reveals a set of statistics which gives pause to the senior citizen or baby boomer facing retirement.
It is authored by Sam Roberts and flies under Jane Gross' column, "The New Old Age." Well researched and sharply poignant, the article helps us understand the demographics of aging over the next almost 50 years.
Roberts begins by pointing out that today 13% of Americans are over 65. By 2030, that figure will more than double to 89 million. By 2025, those achieving the centenarian mark will rise from 80,000 today to 175k then. In 2035, those 85 and over will jump from 5 million now to 11.5 million then. And, in the 2020's deaths will outnumber births among whites.
Starting to get the idea? The rumblings of such change have been growing for the past 50 years and more. The demographic changes in the American landscape will alter almost everything. No protests, bills in Congress, personal disbelief or reluctance to accommodate these figures will change the shift which will touch us all. Cultural, political, educational, geographic, financial and every other category of human activity will be included in this seismic shift.
More, by 2050, the median age among non-Hispanic whites will be 44.6%/ In other words whites will no longer dominate the majority population. Our son and daughter will be 83 and 84 respectively by then. Their attitudes today suggest they will have adjusted well to these dynamics. Those who don't or can't will likely end up miserable.
The population of Asians by then will represent 43.4%; African Americans (identified as blacks in the article) will be 38.9% and Hispanics, 31.2%.
So, get on board, little children, the train is pulling out from the station as we speak. It behooves all of us to examine our own perspectives on a multi cultural, likely bi lingual, and rainbow population as we will be compelled to participate in the shifting sands of the American population. I suggest it is certainly not too early to start, or even for those past 65, not too late!
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While it is important to be concerned with our youth and how they are developing, we should also be concerned with the older folks. The Baby Boomer generation is already hitting retirement age and the health, marketing, and financial industries should be paying attention to them.
Even more so with the Hispanic community since they are the biggest minority group in the US.
We should be especially concerned about them since they are becoming older and a lot of them probably don't have medical insurance.
A good thing is AARP, a non profit organization helping those 50 and older, and Cristina Saralegui, the Latina talk show host, have teamed up together to promote AARP's benefits to the Hispanic community.
If you're a fan of Cristina Saralegui, what's very cool is that if you go on to her website, you can create a video with her in it and share it with your friends. You can also get a chance to enter and win a trip for 2 to Miami and see The Cristina Saralegui Show.
If you or a loved one (over 50) are interested in more info, check out: http://www.upclosewithcristina.com/video
If you want to know more about AARP's benefits, check out their webstie: http://www.aarp.org
I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries. I work with AARP and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Amelia Lopez
AARP Ambassador
ameliaaarp@yahoo.com
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