The population in the United States is trending toward including more and more elderly individuals. This is happening because baby boomers — the population spike seen right after the end of World War II — are growing older and pushing the numbers up.
For example, consider that studies in 2006 found that there were just 37 million people in the United States who were past the general retirement age of 65 years old. Fast forward a decade, to 2016, and that number had gone up to about 49.2 million people.
Not only is that a massive increase of more than 12 million people, but it meant that around one out of every seven people in the country fell into this age group. They made up a significant percentage of the overall population.
It’s just going to keep increasing. Projections for 2060 say that unless there is some massive and unprecedented change, there should be around 98 million U.S. citizens who are 65 years old and older. That means that the total will double from 2016 to 2060.
In light of these statistics, it is clear that a lot of Americans are going to have to start thinking about transferring their substantial wealth on to their children. These are elderly people who will have retired after long careers, and they are also rapidly approaching the average life expectancy in the U.S. The transfer to the younger generations is growing closer every day.
Those who enter this age group need to consider their needs, their assets, their wealth and what options they have to help their families moving forward.