Everything you ever wanted to know...

• 80 million boomers live in the United States [MMMI].
• 26.8% of Americans are boomers [MMMI].
• Someone in the U.S. turns age 50 every 7 seconds [AARP].
• 4 million boomers turn 50 every year [The Boomer Project].
• 32 million boomers are already age 50 or older [MMMI].
• The 50+ population is going to double in the next 35 years [AARP].
• 3.3 million boomers will turn 60 in 2006 [U.S. Census Bureau].
• In 2030, boomers will be ages 66-84 and will make up about 20% of the total population [MMMI].
• 51% of boomers are women [MMMI].
• 16.9% of boomers are people of color [MMMI].
• 30% of boomers are obese [American Journal of Public Health].
• People 60 years old today have an average expected life expectancy of 81.6 years [CDC].
• 59% of boomers voted in the 2000 presidential election [MMMI].
• 88.8% of boomers completed high school [MMMI].
• 28.5% of boomers have a bachelor's degree or higher [MMMI].
• Approximately 36 million U.S. adults over age 50 have computer access [AARP].
• The estimated annual spending power of the boomers is more than $2 trillion [MMMI].
• The American boomer household spends about $45,000 each year [MMMI].
• Boomers age 45 to 54 have the highest average household income ($68,028 before taxes) and highest household spending ($50,101) of any age group [Bureau of Labor Statistics].
• People now in their 50s are predicted to work longer than members of prior generations; in 2012, more than 60% of men age 60 to 64 are projected to be in the workforce, up from about 54% in 1992 [Congressional Budget Office].
• More than three-quarters of boomers expect to keep working past 65 [Merrill Lynch].
• One-fourth of boomers do not think they will have enough money to retire. Male boomers (50%) are significantly more likely than females (34%) to think they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement [Del Webb Survey].

Sources

AARP

• www.aarp.org/about_aarp/aarp_leadership/ on_issues/baby_boomers/ helping_aging_boomers_to_age_in_place.html
• www.aarp.org/aboutaarp/adguide/

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

• www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/95/9/1607

THE BOOMER PROJECT, Marketing to the Middle Age of Aquarius, April 2005

• www.boomerproject.com/Middle_Age_of_Aquarius.pdf

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, 2003 Consumer Expenditure Survey

• www.bls.gov/cex/2003/Standard/age.pdf

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, National Vital Statistics Reports

• www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr51/nvsr51_03.pdf

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Projections of the Labor Force, September 2004

• www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/58xx/doc5803/09-15-LaborForce.pdf

DEL WEBB 2004 BABY BOOMER SURVEY

• www.escapehomes.com/articles/ Baby_Boomers_Statistics_on_Empty_Nests_and_Retirement.htm

MERRILL LYNCH, "The New Retirement Survey," February 22, 2005

• www.ml.com/?id=7695_7696_8149_46028_46503_46635

METLIFE MATURE MARKET INSTITUTE (MMMI)
Demographic Profile of American Baby Boomers
[Note: "The [MMMI] Demographic Profile of American Baby Boomers is based mainly on 2000 U.S. Census Bureau data, and also includes information from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other Census Bureau reporting."]

• www.metlife.com/Applications/Corporate/WPS/CDA/ PageGenerator/0,1674,P250%257ES701,00.html
• www.metlife.com/WPSAssets/34442486101113318029V1 FBoomer%20Profile%202005.pdf

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU DATA ON AGING

• www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/vsus_1946_1.pdf
• www.census.gov/population/pop-profile/dynamic/AgeSex.pdf
• www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/ facts_for_features_special_editions/004210.html