THURSDAY, March 9, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. population may be aging, but it's not ailing as much as it once did.
Today's older Americans are healthier, wealthier, wiser and retiring earlier than those who came before them, according to a new Census Bureau report.
"Oftentimes it's a myth that older people are infirm and dependent, and certainly the new crop of baby boomers who are rapidly heading toward old age are a different breed," said Mia Oberlink, project director of the AdvantAge Initiative at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York in New York City, who was not involved in the research. "They're going to be healthier, they're going to live longer, and they'll be wealthier and more educated so the general picture is very bright."
The report, titled 65+ in the United States: 2005, was commissioned by the National Institute of Aging and prepared by the Census Bureau.
The proportion of the U.S. population aged 65 and over is expected to double within the next 25 years, to 72 million people, an explosion that will have a far-reaching impact on families and society.
Among the study's findings:
- Older Americans are healthier, with 19.7 percent suffering from a disability in 1999, versus 26.2 percent in 1982. Still, in Census 2000, some 14 million people 65 and older reported some level of disability, most of it related to chronic conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, arthritis or respiratory disorders. About 80 percent of seniors have at least one chronic health condition, and 50 percent have at least two. The percentage of obese elderly Americans continues to expand, with about 33 percent of men and 39 percent of women considered obese in 1999-2000, up from 24 percent and 27 percent, respectively, in 1988-94.
- The proportion of Americans 65 and older living in poverty declined from 35 percent in 1959 to 10 percent in 2003, largely because of the safety net of Social Security. In 2003, women were more likely than men to be living in poverty (13 percent vs. 7 percent). Almost one-quarter (24 percent) of older blacks, 20 percent of older Hispanics and 8 percent of older non-Hispanic whites were living in poverty.
- Older Americans are less likely to be working today than in the past. In 1950, 46 percent of men aged 65 and over were in the labor force; in 2003, only 19 percent were working. Rates for women stayed the same, 10 percent in 1950, 11 percent in 2003. As people age, their likelihood of working part-time goes up. In 2003, about half of employed men 70 and over and two-thirds of employed women 70 and over worked part-time.
- Florida has the highest proportion of oldest people (17.6 percent), followed by Pennsylvania (15.6 percent) and West Virginia (15.3 percent). In 2000, three out of four older people lived in metropolitan areas. Almost three-quarters of Hispanics aged 65 and older lived in California, Texas, Florida and New York while nearly two-thirds of older Asians lived in the West.
- Today's older Americans are also better educated than in the past. In 2003, 17.4 percent had a bachelor's degree, compared to 3.4 percent in 1950, a five-fold increase. By 2030, more than one-quarter of older Americans are expected to have this college degree. Between 1950 and 2003, the percentage of elderly who had completed high school quadrupled from 17 percent to 71.5 percent.
- In general, the over-65 population mirrors the total population in terms of diversity. In 2003, 83 percent of older Americans were non-Hispanic white, 8 percent were black, 6 percent were Hispanic and 3 percent were Asian. By 2030, non-Hispanic whites are expected to represent 72 percent of the older population; Hispanics, 11 percent; blacks, 10 percent, and Asians, 5 percent.
- Changes in family structure, specifically more divorce, fewer children and more stepchildren, may mean less family support for this older segment of the population. In 1960, 1.6 percent of older men and 1.5 percent of older women were divorced. By 2003, 7 percent of older men and 8.6 percent of older women were divorced and had stayed single.
"The picture is much rosier than in the past," Oberlink said. "This hints that older people can actually be looked upon as resources for communities, rather as drains. They have a lot to contribute and there's going to be a lot of them."
More information
View the full report at the U.S. Census Bureau.
