US elders longer-lived, richer than predecessors
CHICAGO - Older Americans have more money and are expected to live far longer than prior generations, US government researchers said yesterday.
They said the average net worth of older Americans, those 65 or older, has increased almost 80 percent over the past 20 years.
And those who reach age 65 are now expected to live an average of 19 more years, or seven years longer than 65-year-olds in the year 1900.
The findings are part of "Older Americans 2008," a report featuring data from 15 federal agencies on trends in population, economics, and health issues.
"This report comes at a critical time," Edward Sondik, director of the US National Center for Health Statistics said in a statement. "As the baby boomers age and America's older population grows larger and more diverse, community leaders, policy makers, and researchers have an even greater need for reliable data to understand where older Americans stand today and what they may face tomorrow."
The report forecasts that by 2030, the number of Americans over age 65 will nearly double to 71.5 million, or 20 percent of the US population, up from 12 percent, or 37 million people, in 2006.
It found that older adults in the United States are far better educated than prior generations. In 2007, 76 percent of those over 65 had high school diplomas, and at least 19 percent had a bachelor's degree, up from 24 percent with high school diplomas in 1965 and just 5 percent with bachelor's degrees.
A large part of the gain in education applies to nonHispanic whites over age 65. As of last year, 81 percent of non-Hispanic whites in that age group had finished high school, compared with 72 percent of Asians, 58 percent of blacks, and 42 percent of older Hispanics.
And while the proportion of people with incomes below the poverty line fell to 9 percent in 2006, down from 15 percent in 1974, the median net worth for households headed by white people age 65 and older in 2005 was six times that of households headed by blacks.
That gap, however, has narrowed since 2003, when older whites had a median net worth that was eight times greater than households headed by older blacks, according to the report.
While the report said Americans are living longer than before, life expectancy in the United States still lags many other industrialized countries, including Canada, France, Sweden, and Japan.
For example, in 2003, women in Japan who reached age 65 could expect to live 3.2 years longer than US women. Men in Japan who reached age 65 lived 1.2 years longer than men in the United States.
To see the report, go to AgingStats.gov.
