Administration on Aging Releases Profile of Americans 65+    

The government’s Administration on Aging has released its annual profile of people ages 65 and older. “A Profile of Older Americans: 2009″ is available online.

The following are highlights from the report.

• Population: The population of people 65 years and older totaled 38.9 million in 2008. The number of people ages 45 to 64 (who will reach 65 over the next two decades) increased by 31% during this decade. The 85+ population is projected to increase from .2 million in 2000 to 5.7 million in 2010 (a 36% increase) and then to 6.6 million in 2020 (a 15% increase for that decade).
• Income: The median income of older persons in 2008 was $25,503 for men and$14,559 for women. Households containing families headed by persons 65+ reported a median income of $44,188 in 2008. Major sources of income for older people in 2007 were Social Security (reported by 87% of older persons), income from assets (52%), private pensions (28%), government employee pensions (13%) and earnings (25%).
• Health status: In 2008, 39.1% of non-institutionalized older persons assessed their health as excellent or very good.
• Lifestyle: About 27% of persons 60+ report height/weight combinations that place them among the obese. Almost 265 of persons ages 65 to 74 and 19% of those 75+ report that they engage in regular leisure-time physical activity. Only 9% report that they are current smokers, and only 5% reported excessive alcohol consumption. Only 2% reported that they had experienced psychological distress during the past 30 days.