Why It’s Time For More Big Foundations To Fund Aging
It’s an issue we can’t ignore: The fastest-growing age group in our population needs our help, and we’re failing them miserably. For the first time in the history of the developed world, there are more of us over age 60 than under age 5.
Women who reached age 65 in 2016 can expect to live to nearly 86, and men to 83. About 17% of the U.S. population is over 65 today and, in 10 years, that number will increase to nearly 21%. While these remarkable stats tell us that we’re living longer, they don’t necessarily mean we’re living better.
More than 25 million Americans aged 60+ are economically insecure and, according to a Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis study, 40% of today’s older middle-class workers will live at, or near, poverty in retirement.
They struggle with rising housing costs and health care bills, inadequate nutrition, lack of access to transportation, diminished savings and limited opportunities for work. And, according to new poverty figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau this week, 5.1 million Americans age 65 and older are living in poverty; the poverty rate for people 65 and older was 9.7% in 2018, up from 9.6% in 2017.
Read more @Forbes
