10-11-1999 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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substantial numbers. The rapid grow th w-ill not start in earnest until about 2010. AGES OF TWIN CITIES AREA SENIORS (1997) 53% age 65 to 74 34% age 75 to 84 13% age 85 and older Source: Metropolitan Council As Baby Boomers move through their senior years, the age groups will shift dramatically. Most recently, the fastest-growing segment has been seniors age 85 and older. This will begin to change around the year 2010, w hen the Baby Boom generation swells the 65-to-74 segment. By the year 2020. Baby Boomers w ill enter the 75-to-84 group - the age at which many seniors move into senior housing. Baby Boomers will begin to turn 85 in 2030, and from then until 2050 there will be an unprecedented number of very old seniors. Race and ethnicity Racial and ethnic minorities now make up <mly about 5 percent of Tw in Cities area seniors. Minority seniors tend to have lower income, lower life expectancy, and higher disability rates. They may also have special housing WE EXPECT THAT: Seniors' desire to remain in their own homes and neighborhoods will persist and grow stronger in the future. The aging of the Baby Boom generation (born 1946 to 1964) will strain the ability of the seven Twin Cities counties and the State ol Minnesota to ensure that seniors needs are met. needs and preferences related to their culture and community connections. Senior diversity will grow substantially, although seniors will remain less diver.se than the younger Twin Cities area population. Gender and household size Women currently make up about 57 percent of Twin Cities area seniors. They are less likely than men to own their homes, and much more likely than men to live alone and have lower income. As life expectancy increases faster for men than for women, the senior gender gap will narrow somewhat. With fewer 'vidows, the percentage of single-income senior households will go down. Life oxpectancy In general, women live longer than men do, and white people live longer than people of most other races or ethnic origin. Minnesotans tend to live longer than the average American. Recent estimates are that 65-year-old white Minnesota men can expect to live another 15.8 years and women another 20.2 years. By 2050. experts predict that 65-year-old men could expect another 20.3 years of life, and 65-year-old women would live another 22.4 yeius. These forecasts are for the United States; Minnesota numbers tend to be slightly higher. Ouilding toward the senior boom Wilder Resean h Center for East Metro SAIL