Profile America — Tuesday, May 12th. As Americans live longer, the problems of financing their retirement and paying their medical bills continue to influence public policies. But the growing number of healthy seniors also means greater availability of experience. Both the problems and opportunities are in the spotlight in May — it’s Older Americans Month.

There are nearly 48 million people aged 65 and older in the U.S., almost 15 percent of the population.

By the year 2060, the number of elderly is projected to be 98 million.

Currently, nearly one-tenth of all older Americans — 4.3 million — have full-time, year-round employment, but that likely includes few of the nation’s 72,000 centenarians.

Sources:

Older Americans Month and senior employment:

www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2015/cb15-ff09.html

Population and projections/Table 9:

www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2014/summarytables.html

You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy from the American Community Survey at www.census.gov.

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet .

 

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