By Steve Grund, Colorado Senior Lobby
Today’s news about Medicare and Medicaid isn’t just for older adults. If you are young and vibrant, the chances that you will age are pretty good. Pay attention now, because you are inevitably… next.
Most of us in Colorado are aware that by 2030, one in four of us will be over the age of 60. Yes, the baby boomers are the largest group of seniors to date, but there are more millennials than baby boomers; and, the generation behind the millennials, larger still.
The graying of our nation is here to stay. Through the ages, infectious diseases took lives indiscriminately. Now, it’s a different paradigm. Changes in medicine, lifestyle, water and sanitation have us all living much longer.
Today’s Healthcare politics are what these younger generations will inherit. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are 72,000 folks in the country who are at least 100 years old. By 2055 when many millennials are retiring, the Bureau estimates there will be nearly 500,000 nationwide to reach 100.
How does one manage to finance a retirement that lasts longer than one’s ability to work?
Fortunately for younger generations, there are older generations to help you connect with policy makers. The Colorado Senior Lobby is thrilled to have two board members under the age of 40 keeping the rest of the group in line. It’s a vital inclusion. Young people need to get into the business of aging.
Older adults need to recruit younger people into their organizations; regardless of the organization.
Our future health benefits have a much greater chance of dying than we do. It’s time for our younger citizens to take the economics of our aging population seriously; not to help older adults, but to help themselves.