By 2030, over 71 Million Americans will be 65 years of age or even older. Let's prepare our society.

Thanks to scientific developments in medicine and personal care, we are getting older.

U.S. life expectancy keeps lengthening. Part of these gains according to a study by USC and Yale University researchers is that we are literally growing old slower than previous generations did.

“This is the first evidence we have of delayed ‘aging’ among a national sample of Americans,” said senior author Eileen M. Crimmins, University Professor and AARP Professor of Gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. The study by Crimmins and lead author Morgan E. Levine, assistant professor at the Yale Center for Research on Aging, appeared in the journal Demography on March 6, 2018.

They interviewed over twenty thousand people and found that their biological age, thanks to exercise, eating healthy, and slowed down the process of aging.

People are growing older more slowly and that is why they will be able to enjoy life longer.

We love that our parents and grandparents are part of our life. We care for each other. As we get older we slowly need more attention and care. We might be feeling wonderful well into our 80s and 90s. And yet, sooner or later we begin to age.

Free time has decreased since the advent of the smartphone. Fortunately, many tools are available to keep ourselves fit and engaged with our families, and our communities.

Since we may not feel very old for twenty or thirty years longer than our parents and grand-parents, we have to change our thinking and how we stay active and involved with life and the world.

Eileen Crimmins, PhD, is a University Professor and the AARP Chair in Gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is currently the director of the USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health, one of the Demography of Aging Centers supported by the U.S. National Institute on Aging. She is also the Director of the Multidisciplinary Training in Gerontology Program and the NIA-sponsored Network on Biological Risk. Crimmins is a co-investigator of the Health and Retirement Study in the U.S. Much of Crimmins’ research has focused on changes over time in health and mortality. Learn more about her at: https://gero.usc.edu/faculty/crimmins/

The number of Americans over 65 is rapidly increasing.

Americans overall are growing older than previous generations did. There are some declines in the increase of age and recent studies show that socio-econonic differences account for that more so than medical care.

Older Americans work longer than previous generations did. Part of this is due to the fact that the onset of the time social security starts has been delayed by about two years so far and will get delayed to 70 years of age or even older in the future.

In the past women grew older than men on average due to wars and the fact that men has more stress at work. This difference is rapidly diminishing now that several generations of women are working just as much and sometimes more than men.

Many Americans are working longer than previous generations did. Even recently worker participation of older people increased while worker participation of younger people decreased due to COVID and unpleasant working conditions.

As we all stay active and engaged in our lives' pursuits it is important for our mental, emotional and therefore physical health that we stay in touch with our family members.

Knowing whether our loved ones are fine improves our peace of mind — establishing open communication with loved ones lowers everyone's stress level and helps us prevent situations we want to avoid.