Only 46 percent of American communities have begun planning to address the needs of the exploding population of aging Baby Boomers. The Baby Boom generation - born between 1948 and 1964—is rapidly approaching retirement age. When this trend hits its peak in 2030, the number of people over age 65 in the United States will soar to 71.5 million—twice their number in the year 2000—or one in every five Americans.What ARE communities doing to prepare for this?
The Maturing of America: Getting Communities on Track for an Aging Population reports on the results of questionnaires that were sent to local governments* asking about their “aging readiness.” The results show that although many communities have some programs to address the needs of older adults, very few have undertaken a comprehensive assessment of what it would take to make their community “elder friendly.”
The study was designed to address three key preparedness questions:
- whether efforts are being made to assess and put into place programs, policies and services that address the needs of older adults and their caregivers;
- whether cities and counties are able to ensure that their communities are “livable” for all ages – not only good places to grow up but good places to grow old; and
- how well equipped an area is to harness the talent, wisdom and experience of older adults to contribute to the community at large.