I’m 52 years old. I live alone. I have no savings. I have no insurance. I do think my social security benefits, when and if I receive them beginning 15 years from now, will cover my normal living expenses, thank goodness. But I worry about whether or not I’ll be able to take care of myself. I certainly won’t be able to afford assisted living, when the average cost right now, without special services, is $3,550 per month. I don’t have children, so there’s no one who’ll be there as a family caregiver. And the thing is, I’m not alone in this worry. In fact, this same scenario is growing as the senior citizen population is growing. How will America deal with this problem 20 years from now?
To get an idea of the problem, let’s take a look at a few numbers that have recently been published.
- In 1950, 10% of seniors lived alone.
- Today, in 2012, 33% of seniors live alone.
Ok, so a full 1/3 of our elderly population live alone, but how many is that, really? Well, let’s take a look at some more numbers.
- Last year, in 2011, the first wave of baby boomers – those 72 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 – turned 65. This population will only continue to hit senior citizen status more and more, each year for the next couple of decades.
- Today, in 2012, 13% of all Americans are senior citizens (those who are 65 years or older). That’s one senior citizen out of about every 8 Americans.
- In 2030, when the last of the baby boomers become senior citizens, 20% of all Americans will be seniors. That’s one senior out of every 5 Americans.
More than likely, the rate of those seniors who are living alone will have increased as well, to beyond 33%. The reality will be that there will be a huge increase in the number of elderly in our country, and a large number of those will live alone.
Many of those will be unable to afford assisted living services. Some will have no family to act as caregivers.
What will our country do to help them? What will our states, cities, or local communities do to help? What can we start doing now to help those in need right now, and to prepare to help all those who will need it in the future?
I don’t have the answer to those questions, unfortunately. I only have the worry of what I will face in my own future, and that worry broadens to all those who will face similar circumstances. I bring it up here merely in the hopes that others will start to consider these questions and perhaps, when the time comes, we’ll have figured out some answers.
Sources: http://ideas.time.com/2012/05/08/who-can-solve-the-aging-boomers-crisis-boomers/ and http://contemporaryfamilies.org/aging/aging-alone-press-release.html and http://www.alfa.org/assnfe/Article.asp?clArticleID=109
