Aging Population In America

The demographics of the United States have continued to change over the last ten years. During the next two decades, the aging population stands to significantly increase as the baby boom population transitions into the senior population. In 2011, the first of the baby boomers began entering the age of 65. The last of the baby boomers will turn 65 in 2030. In 2012, those 65 and older made up 13.7% of the total population. The US population is beginning to see a significant growth in the proportion of Americans who are 65 and older, projections suggest by 2030 those 65 and older will comprise 20.3% of the total population (Ortman & Velkoff, 2014). The declines in fertility and the dramatic increases in longevity have increased the proportion of seniors in the population (Cherlin, 2010). …show more content…
Due to the sheer size of the group, the baby boomer generation have influenced politics, economics, and society at each stage of their life. They enter old age with a very different experience, influence, and societal impact than senior groups have in the past (Fey, 2010; Pruncho, 2012). The demographic composition of the aging population are also changing with respect to two characteristics: race and geography. The aging populace is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse population than previous aging populations (Ortman & Velkoff, 2014). Additionally, the elderly have continued to be a large part of the populous in the Southern areas, but with the younger population migration decline and the limited offset of the increasing aging population there is a greying of the Midwest, Appalachia, and Northeastern (Frey, 2010, 2015; Kent, Lee, & Mather,