We are standing on Holy Grounds.

McCoy Methodist Church       

Facts on older adults

Older Adulthood — Some Facts and Figures

· More than 34 million people in the U.S. are 65 years of age or    older. (In 1900, there were only 3 million older adults in the United States.)

· Persons reaching age 65 have an average additional life expectancy of 17.3    years (18.9 years for females; 15.3 years for males).

· By 2030, there will be about 70 million older persons, more than twice the number in 1994 — and more than 20% of the total U.S. population!

· Racial and ethnic groups are projected to represent 25 per cent of the elderly population in 2030, up from 13% in 1990.

· Approximately 5,600 persons celebrate their 65th birthday every day.

· Older men are nearly twice as likely to be married as older women (77 percent of men, 43 percent of women).

· The median income of older persons is $15,250 for males and 8,950 for females (based on 1994 data for non-institutionalized older adults).

· About half (52 percent) of the persons 65 years of age and older live in nine states: California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey.

· Nearly 72 percent of older persons assess their health as good, very good, or excellent.

· The major source of income for older adults is Social Security (40 percent), followed by asset income (21 percent), public and private pensions (19 percent), earnings (17 percent), and all other sources (3%).

· Aging is a process, not a disease.

· Growing older is a process of disintegration in order to reintegrate life experiences including spiritual issues.