Before you buy into that stereotype that all older Americans are demented, helpless and lonely, check out these statistics.
Not everybody is Hillary Clinton?
Ninety-seven percent of Americans over 65 are NOT in nursing homes. Here’s an even more interesting statistic ‐ ninety-one percent of Americans aged 85 and older are not in nursing homes.
I am part of the 97% and hope to squeeze into the 91%.
Ninety percent of Americans aged 65 and older DO NOT have Alzheimer’s dementia. Ninety percent, folks. According to the American Medical Association, dementia rates continue to fall significantly. Interestingly, however, Americans’ anxiety about memory loss is increasing.
I wonder if the media has something to do with that misconception?
| Or possibly connected to the fact that more Americans have reached the age where dementia is a real possibility, even if a smaller percent actually experience it. |
If most older Americans are not demented or helpless, surely they are at least suffering from loneliness and depression, right? Nope. Health-service company Cigna did a survey and found that the loneliest group is Generation Z, defined as ages 18 ‐ 22. The next largest group is composed of people aged 45-49; a whopping forty-three percent report being lonely. In contrast, only twenty-five percent of Americans over 70 say they are lonely.If you've been in a stable relationship for a number of years, that's a big help.
How about that secret conviction held by most that older people are an economic burden to the country and, by extension, to every one of us? Not true. People over 50 make up thirty-five percent of the population yet contribute forty-three percent of the total US GDP. That’s a $7.4 trillion contribution by that aged and decrepit over-50 group.
| Workers 50-67 are generally in their peak earning years, just before they retire. The concern centers on the years after retirement, when they’re spending down their retirement savings. |
Some interesting examples of late-term bloomers at link.