In six years, for the first time in U.S. history, the elderly will outnumber children, marking a dramatic aging of the population. This shift impacts the labor and financial markets, demand for goods and services such as housing, transportation, and social protection, warned the WHO.
The "silver tsunami" (a demographic wave caused by population aging) has doubled the burden on working-age people since 1960 when there were six workers for every person over 65, according to the Daily Mail. Millions in the U.S. risk having no one to assist them as the low-paid caregiving industry is overshadowed by better-paying jobs.
The situation worsened post-COVID-19, which triggered the "Great Retirement," adding two million more retirees. Half of the U.S. wealth is now held by those born before 1965. However, around 20 million Americans over 55 already need help with daily tasks to live independently.
The U.S. Social Security trust fund is expected to be depleted by 2034, and spending on social assistance and Medicare is projected to rise from 9.1% to 11.5% of the GDP in just 12 years. By 2030, there will be only 2.75 working-age people for each dependent person, including children.
"As the large Baby Boomer population retires, we enter a period where millions of highly experienced, high-performing workers transition from producers to consumers," said economist Ron Hetrick of Lightcast. A high number of retirees isn't inherently problematic; the issue lies in the ratio of retirees to new workers, reported the Daily Mail.
U.S. Census Bureau projections predict that by 2060, one in four Americans will be over 65, and centenarians will number over a million by the century's end. The percentage of the retired adult population has surged from 15% in 2007 to just under 20%, accelerating since 2020 and defying Federal Reserve predictions.