Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Boomers upbeat on aging

10,000 a day will turn 65 over the next 10 years

Baby boomers are upbeat about aging and expect the next phase of their lives to be better than the last, but many are concerned about their financial future and long-term health costs, a survey showed.

Americans are living healthier and longer that ever before. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts boomers will turn 65 at a rate of 10,000 per day for the next decade, making them, along with centenarians, the fastest-growing segment of the population.

More than 75 per cent of seniors questioned in the poll on aging are optimistic, think the best is yet to come, and expect to have the same quality of life, or better, during their next decade.

"The reason they are upbeat is because we have changed our definition of aging.

People are working longer. They see people who are older being healthier," said Donna Shalala, the president of the University of Miami and a former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration.

Shalala, 71, who will discuss the results of the poll during a panel in Miami on successful aging, said people are buoyed by seeing their relatives living longer.

"My mother is 100 years old. Why shouldn't I be optimistic?" she added.

The majority of 2,250 seniors, aged 60 or older, questioned in the telephone survey from the National Council on Aging, medical insurer UnitedHealthcare and the newspaper USA Today said they are confident they will be able to maintain their health and think they manage stress effectively.

Although many seniors feel financially secure, nearly half of low-and middleincome seniors questioned in the poll are not confident they will be able to cover their expenses over the next five to 10 years.

About a third of older Americans do not think they will be able to afford long-term care, according to the poll, and for one in five seniors, a major financial event would result in a fiscal crisis.

Lower income seniors are also more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses and less likely to exercise.