Worried about Wrinkles, Gray Hair? Just Wait

As one gets older, the list of potential health and beauty complaints grows. AARP has done a yeoman's job of documenting those complaints, then surveying older Americans to find out how concerned they are about each one. There are lots of complaints. This is just a partial list...

Gray hair, wrinkles, yellowing teeth, hunched back, age spots, jowls/double chin, gastrointestinal issues, trouble sleeping, snoring, constipation, joint pain, tinnitus, hearing loss, shortness of breath, incontinence, waking from sleep to go to the bathroom, loss of teeth, loss of mobility, Alzheimer's/dementia, and perhaps worst of all—losing a sense of humor.

The good news is this: the older you get, the less you worry about these things. In fact, worries about health and beauty seem to peak in what could be called middle age. People in their fifties worry more about aging than do those in their sixties. People in their sixties worry more than those in their seventies. And so it goes. Maybe. The survey did not include respondents aged 80 or older. 

Want some examples of how worries fade away with age? Well, let's have a look at those wrinkles. Nearly one in four people in their fifties (24 percent) say they are very/extremely concerned about wrinkles. Among people in their sixties, only 14 percent are very/extremely concerned about wrinkles. The worried share drops to just 9 percent among the oldest people surveyed—those aged 70 to 79. 

The same pattern occurs on a whole range of health and beauty issues, including some of the most serious such as Alzheimer's/dementia. A substantial 27 percent of people aged 50 to 59 are very/extremely concerned about getting dementia. Among 60-to-69-year-olds, the figure is 19 percent, and it drops to just 16 percent among people in their seventies.

Concerns about losing one's sense of humor also wither with age. Among fiftysomethings, 18 percent are very/extremely concerned about losing their sense of humor, with the majority of fiftysomethings having at least some concern. In contrast, among people aged 70 to 79, only 6 percent are very/extremely concerned about losing their sense of humor. The 60 percent majority of the oldest respondents are "not at all" concerned about losing their funny bone. 

Source: AARP, Health Worries Lessen with Age?

This Does Not Compute

What kind of housing do most older Americans want to live in as they age? They want to live in their own house, of course. According to an AARP survey conducted by NORC, fully 74 percent of Americans aged 50 or older "want to stay in my own residence and live on my own" in their future years. At the same time, the great majority (81 percent) of Americans aged 50 or older say they would prefer to spend their old age in a small town (35 percent), a rural area (17 percent), or in the suburbs (29 percent). To repeat...

74% of older Americans want to stay in their own residence and live on their own, but 

84% prefer to live in suburbs, small towns, or rural areas 

Here's the problem: It will be very difficult for most older Americans to remain in their current home for the rest of their lives AND live in small towns, rural areas, or suburbs—most of which lack the services that would allow them to maintain their independence. 

Fully 90 percent of people aged 50 or older say they currently get around their community by driving themselves, according to the AARP survey. As driving becomes more difficult with age, millions of older Americans could be stranded at home, dependent on the goodwill of friends and relatives to help them meet their basic needs.

Source: AARP, 2021 Home and Community Preferences Survey: A National Survey of Adults Age 18-Plus

What Is the Probability You Will Need Long-Term Care?

Older Americans face a great unknown: will they or won't they need potentially costly long-term care as they age. Researchers at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (CRR) wanted to shed some light on this great unknown, assigning probabilities to the need for long-term care. The goal, say the researchers, "is to help retirees, their families, and policymakers better understand the likelihood that 65-year-olds—over the course of their retirement—will experience disability that seems manageable, catastrophic, or somewhere in-between."

Not all long-term care needs are the same. Some older people will need long-term care only for a short period of time or for specific tasks that can be readily done by willing family members, making the financial burden manageable. Other older people will need long-term care not only for years but also for vital tasks such as bathing, eating, and toileting, which usually require professional help. This more intense long-term care can become an unmanageable financial burden if a lengthy stay in a long-term care facility is required. 

The CRR researchers wanted to determine the probabilities of each type of long-term care. They sorted potential long-term care needs into three categories based on two factors—the length of time care is needed and the type of care required. They labeled the three categories minimal (help needed for mundane tasks only, such as shopping or housekeeping), moderate (help needed with only one vital task such as bathing or toileting), and severe (help needed with two or more vital tasks or dementia). Then the researchers examined decades of data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to determine the probabilities for each level of care from age 65 until death. Here are the results...

• 17% of 65-year-olds will not require any long-term care.
• 22% will require minimal long-term care, meaning they will need help only with mundane tasks such as housework, shopping, or preparing meals for any amount of time or they will need help with only one vital task for no more than one year.
• 38% will require moderate long-term care, meaning they will need help with one vital task for one to three years or they will need help with two or more vital tasks or dementia for up to three years.
• 24% will require severe long-term care, meaning help with one or more vital tasks/dementia for three or more years. This is "the type of severe needs that most people dread," the CRR researchers note.

Which long-term care path will an individual 65-year-old take? That's the $64,000 question. Some answers lie in the demographics, however. For example, from age 65 to death, college graduates are less likely than those with less education to have severe long-term care needs. Only 20 percent of the 65-year-old college graduates in the HRS database had severe needs during the remainder of their lives. This compares with a larger 28 percent of those with less education. Future CRR briefs will "identify people who are particularly at risk of experiencing needs they do not have the resources to meet."

Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, What Level of Long-Term Services and Supports Do Retirees Need?

Misperceptions Hamper Planning for Long-Term Care

Nearly half of middle-aged and older Americans believe something that isn't true. No, this story isn't about QAnon. It's about long-term care. Fully 47 percent of people aged 40 or older believe Medicare—the government's health insurance program for people aged 65-plus—covers long-term care services such as nursing homes, according to an AARP survey. Medicare does not cover these services. The misperception that Medicare does cover them may be why so few have made plans for long-term care needs as they age, suggests AARP.  

Only 40 percent of Americans aged 40-plus have set aside money for care in their future, the survey finds. An even smaller 28 percent have researched community-based services, 26 percent have researched in-home care options, and just 22 percent have purchased long-term care insurance.

With so few preparing for potential long-term care needs, what do middle-aged and older Americans think will happen if and when they need it?  Hey kids, listen up! The 64 percent majority want their family to help out—either doing all the heavy lifting or in combination with paid help. Here are the long-term care settings preferred by the 40-plus population...  

Preferred care setting if long-term care is needed

41% prefer a combination of family help and paid help at home

23% prefer only family help at home

17% prefer a nurse to provide care at home

11% prefer care in a residential apartment-like setting

  6% prefer care in a nursing home

Although 64 percent of middle-aged and older Americans want their family to help care for them, only 47 percent have discussed these preferences with their family. 

Source: AARP, Attitudes Toward Long-Term Care Amid Covid-19

Does Happiness Rise in Old Age?

Over the years, happiness studies have revealed a "paradox of well-being"—the finding that life satisfaction increases with advancing age. This is a paradox because no one can explain why older people appear to become increasingly satisfied with their life despite more illness and the greater likelihood of widowhood.

Now a study explains the paradox. It is a mirage, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research study by researchers at RAND. In an examination of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, the researchers find that older Americans with higher life satisfaction live longer than their counterparts with lower satisfaction. Consequently, as people age, those with higher life satisfaction account for a larger share of the survivors, driving up overall satisfaction levels. But looking at life satisfaction at the individual level shows a decline with age. While satisfaction is relatively stable from ages 65 to 75, the researchers report, the rate of decline grows with age at older ages. 

"Our results suggest that the optimistic picture about well-being among older persons based on cross-sectional data is misleading," the researchers conclude. "Those with lower levels of life satisfaction die younger and those who survive experience declining life satisfaction as they age."

What a bummer.

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, The Age Profile of Life-Satisfaction after Age 65 in the U.S., NBER Working Paper 28037

Most Older Homeowners Stay Put

Do older Americans stay in one home long enough to turn their home equity into an income stream, boosting their standard of living in retirement? That's the question posed by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. To determine the answer, CRR researchers estimated the housing trajectories of homeowners aged 50 or older to see whether they had enough residential stability to tap home equity. The answer is yes, according to CRR's analysis of data from the Health and Retirement study. Most older Americans stay put...

Housing trajectory of older homeowners from ages 50-54 to death
53% stay in their home until death
17% move at the time of retirement, then remain in their new home until death
16% stay in their home until a health shock forces them into a rental or long-term care facility
14% are frequent movers

"These findings largely support the narrative from previous research: most people want to age in place and usually move only in response to a shock," say the researchers. Consequently, most homeowners "experience enough residential stability to make tapping home equity through reverse mortgages or property tax deferrals a financially viable strategy."

Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Are Homeownership Patterns Stable Enough to Tap Home Equity?

Housing Problems Loom for Older Americans

Entrepreneurs take note. Over the next two decades, prepare for explosive growth in the number of households headed by people aged 65 or older. According to projections by the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS), the number of householders aged 65 or older will expand by 53 percent between 2018 and 2038. The number aged 80 or older will more than double. By 2038, more than one-third (34 percent) of the nation's households will be headed by people aged 65 or older and one in eight (12 percent) will be headed by people aged 80 or older.

The rapid growth in the number of older householders creates problems and opportunities. The problem is that too many older Americans live in housing unsuited to the needs of the aged, according to the JCHS report, Housing America's Older Adults 2019. Fully 80 percent of homeowners aged 65 or older, live in detached, single-family homes. "The majority of these homes are now at least 40 years old and therefore may present maintenance challenges for their owners," says the report.

And that's not all. Many older householders live in low-density communities, making it difficult for them to care for themselves as they age. "The growing concentration of older households in outlying communities presents major challenges for residents and service providers alike," the report warns. "Single family homes make up most of the housing stock in low-density areas, and residents typically need to be able to drive to do errands, see doctors, and socialize."

But problems like these create opportunities. "The need for affordable, accessible housing and in-home supportive services is set to soar," concludes the report.

Source: Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, Housing America's Older Adults 2019

Number of Workers Aged 75-Plus Will Double

The median age of the labor force is projected to rise by another 0.6 years between now and 2028—from 41.9 in 2018 to 42.5 in 2028, according to recently released projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It doesn't sound like a big deal.

But it is a big deal. The incremental increase in the median age masks dramatic shifts in the labor force by age group as the large baby-boom generation gets older and labor force participation rates among older workers rise. Take a look at the 10-year change projected for the labor force by age...

Percent change in labor force by age, 2018 to 2028
Total labor force: 5.5%
Aged 16 to 24:    -6.1%
Aged 25 to 34:     0.5%
Aged 35 to 44:   13.9%
Aged 45 to 54:    -1.1%
Aged 55 to 64:    -1.3%
Aged 65 to 74:   50.8%
Aged 75-plus:  104.9%

Only one age group under age 65 will gain a significant number of workers during the decade ahead. Meanwhile, the number of workers aged 65 or older will grow 61 percent. The BLS projects a 51 percent increase in the number of workers aged 65 to 74, and a doubling in the number of workers aged 75 or older. Not only are aging boomers inflating the older population, but the labor force participation rate of older workers is projected to climb as well. Among workers aged 65 to 74, the labor force participation rate is projected to climb from 27.0 to 32.5 percent. (For perspective, only 17.7 percent of the age group was in the labor force in 1998.) The labor force participation rate of people aged 75 or older is projected to rise to 12.1 percent, up from 8.7 percent in 2018. (In 1998, only 4.7 percent of the age group was in the labor force.) Workers aged 65 or older will account for 9.4 percent of the labor force in 2028, up from 6.2 percent in 2018.

Because there will be little or no growth in the number of younger workers in the decade ahead, expect businesses with expanding workforces to turn to older workers to fill positions.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections

Time Spent Alone Increases with Age

Americans aged 60 or older spend more than half their waking hours alone—7 hours a day, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey. This is more time alone than any other age group. People aged 40 to 59 spend 4.75 hours alone, and those under age 40 spend 3.5 hours alone on an average day.

Among people aged 60 or older, those who live alone spend the most time alone—10 hours 33 minutes on an average day. Alone time among those with a spouse is just half that, at 5 hours 21 minutes a day. Older women spend more time alone than their male counterparts because they are more likely to be widowed and increasingly so with age...

Daily time spent alone (hours:minutes) among women aged 60 or older
Aged 60 to 69: 6:40
Aged 70 to 79: 7:53
Aged 80-plus: 8:34

Note: Measured time includes all waking hours, except for time spent in personal activities.

Source: Pew Research Center, On Average, Older Adults Spend Over Half Their Waking Hours Alone

Reaching Out for Financial Advice in Old Age

Older Americans might be in trouble. They control a large share of the nation's wealth, yet many are not prepared to manage it. Cognitive abilities decline with age, and most older Americans eschew financial advice. Those are some of the findings of a National Bureau of Economic Research analysis of the 2016 Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal survey of people aged 50 or older. NBER researchers added several questions about financial advice to the HRS, which also measures cognitive ability and financial literacy. The goal of the study was to determine how cognitive ability and financial literacy influence the quantity and quality of the financial advice sought by older Americans.

One of the study's major findings is how infrequently older Americans seek financial advice. Only 35 percent of respondents had reached out for guidance on handling their finances. Another major finding of the study: seeking financial advice is not influenced by cognitive ability or financial literacy. In other words, cognitive ability and financial literacy have no affect on the quantity of financial advice sought by older Americans.

The quality of financial advice is another matter. "More cognitively able and financially literate respondents tend to seek professional financial advice, rather than seeking casual help from family/friends," the authors report. Respondents with greater cognitive ability and financial literacy are more distrustful of financial advisors in general and especially wary of "free" financial advice from advisors who shroud their fees. The quality of financial advice is influenced by cognitive ability and financial literacy, the researchers conclude.

"Low cognitive ability and poor financial literacy can be a barrier to receiving quality financial advice," conclude the authors, "suggesting that researchers and policymakers may need to find new ways to evaluate and monitor financial behavior in an aging population."

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, How Cognitive Ability and Financial Literacy Shape the Demand for Financial Advice at Older Ages, Working Paper 25750 ($5.00)

How Many Boomers Are Middle-Aged?

On average, American women think "old age" begins at 70, according to an AARP survey of women. But the age at which "old age" begins differs by generation...

Age at which "old age" begins
Millennials: 67
Gen Xers: 70
Boomers: 74

The same phenomena occurs when women are asked at what age "middle age" begins. On average, they say it begins at 47, but here are the answers by generation...

Age at which "middle age" begins
Millennials: 44
Gen Xers: 47
Boomers: 51

Among Boomer women, 78 percent regard themselves as middle-aged, according to the AARP survey. But according to the Boomer definition of middle age—which stretches from 51 to 73—the entire generation (aged 54 to 72 this year) is still middle-aged. Even by Millennial standards, 80 percent of Boomers are middle-aged and not yet old.

Source: AARP, Mirror/Mirror: AARP Survey of Women's Reflections on Beauty, Age, and Media

Who Is "Too Old" to Work?

At what age do you consider a person to be "old"? That question was asked by the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies in its 18th annual retirement survey of workers. The answer? It depends. The older you are, the older "old" gets. Millennials consider 65 to be the age at which a person is old. For Gen Xers, the age is 70. Among Boomers, it's 75.

The survey also asked, "At what age do you consider a person to be 'too old' to work?" Millennials said 70, while Gen Xers and Boomers said 75. But many respondents did not give an age at all and said it depends on the person—44 percent of Millennials, 54 percent of Gen Xers, and 69 percent of Boomers.

When asked how long they plan to live, every generation gave a median age of 90. Boomers expect to spend 20 years in retirement, Gen Xers 23, and Millennials 25.

Source: TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies, Wishful Thinking or Within Reach? Three Generations Prepare for "Retirement"

64% of Older Americans Create Art

Most older Americans participate in the arts. A study for the National Endowment for the Arts examines arts participation by people aged 55 or older and, using 2014 data from the Health and Retirement Study, determines whether participation is linked to better physical and mental health. It is. Those who participate in the arts and/or attend arts events have higher levels of cognitive functioning and less physical disability than those who do not.

Few older Americans are not involved in the arts. Just 16 percent of people aged 55 or older neither created art nor attended arts events in the past year. Another 20 percent attended events but did not create art. The 64 percent majority of people aged 55 or older created art—49 percent both created art and attended arts events and another 15 percent created art but did not attend events. Here's what the 64 percent of doers create...

27% crochet, knit, quilt, sew, weave, do needlepoint, or make jewelry
24% dance, including social dancing
19% sing or play a musical instrument
13% do photography, graphic design or filmmaking
12% do woodwork, leatherwork, or metal work
7% paint, sculpt, or make ceramics
7% write stories, poetry, or plays
1% act in theater or film

Fully 43 percent of women aged 55 or older crochet, knit, quilt, sew, weave, do needlepoint, or make jewelry compared with only 4 percent of men. Conversely, 26 percent of men participate in woodworking, leatherwork or metal work versus only 3 percent of women.

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Staying Engaged: Health Patterns of Older Americans Who Participate in the Arts

Dying Slowly from Serious Health Conditions

Dying has changed. It has become a slow process rather than a sudden event, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. "Due to medical advances and the ability to manage chronic conditions in older adults, more people are living longer and, rather than dying from acute episodes of illness, they are dying after long periods of sickness and declining health," says Kaiser. After surveying a nationally representative sample of adults aged 18 or older, Kaiser finds most Americans (74 percent) are aware of this fact.

What are the primary conditions that cause this slow death? The Kaiser survey probed a large subset of its survey sample—respondents aged 65 or older who are experiencing a serious illness that has resulted in functional limitations or who have been diagnosed with specific conditions such as diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, cancer, or dementia. Also included in this subset were family members whose loved ones aged 65 or older are (or were) experiencing serious illness (prior to their death). For the seriously ill, these were the most commonly diagnosed conditions (many had more than one)...

52% had dementia
47% had heart problems/stroke
35% had diabetes
28% had mental health problems (anxiety, depression)
26% had lung problems (asthma, emphysema, COPD)
24% had cancer
14% had chronic kidney disease or kidney failure

The prolonged process of dying places great demands on the health care system. Most Americans think the system comes up short. The 52 percent majority of the public says the health care provided to older people with serious health conditions is only fair or poor. To track the evolution of attitudes and policies to cope with serious illness in late life, Kaiser plans more surveys in the future.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, Serious Illness in Late Life: The Public's Views and Experience

Retirees with Dementia: Who Has Help with Finances?

How many retirees with mild cognitive impairment or dementia have someone to help them with their finances? That's the question posed by a Center for Retirement Research study. The question is critical, the researchers say, because studies show that 18 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment and 80 percent of those with dementia need help with their finances.

Analyzing data from the Health and Retirement Study, the researchers determined first the percentage of retirees aged 70 or older with mild cognitive impairment or dementia, then examined how many had potential helpers. Mild cognitive impairment is more common than dementia, affecting 33 percent of 70-to-74-year-olds and rising with age to 45 percent of people aged 85 or older. Dementia affects 2.7 percent of 70-to-74-year-olds and rises with age to 26.5 percent of those aged 85 or older.

"Fortunately, most individuals do have some help," the researchers find. Among those with mild cognitive impairment, 85 percent have available assistance. Among those with dementia, the figure is an even higher 95 percent. The types of helpers range from a non-impaired spouse or caregiving child to nursing home care. Those least likely to have help are what the researchers call "isolated"—defined as not having a non-impaired spouse and not having children within 10 miles. Others who are less likely to have help are high school dropouts and non-whites.

Source: Center for Retirement Research, Are Many Retirees with Dementia Lacking Help?

How Many Have Dementia?

Half of nursing home residents have Alzheimer's or dementia, according to a government report on long-term care. But most people with dementia live in their community. Overall, 10 percent of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older who are not living in a nursing home have dementia. Here are the percentages by age...

Percent with dementia*
Aged 65 to 69: 3.6%
Aged 70 to 74: 4.8%
Aged 75 to 79: 9.9%
Aged 80 to 84: 15.3%
Aged 85 to 89: 24.0%
Aged 90-plus: 36.2%

* Among non-nursing home population
Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, Older Americans 2016: Key Indicators of Well-Being

Decline in Nursing Home Residents

The number of nursing home residents has fallen steadily since 1997 as home health care and residential care options have expanded. Between 1997 and 2014, the number of nursing home residents fell 9 percent—despite a 26 percent increase in the 65-plus population and a 57 percent increase in the number of people aged 85-plus.

Fewer nursing home residents
2014: 1,369,000
2010: 1,396,000
2005: 1,436,000
2000: 1,480,000
1997: 1,503,000

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Long-Term Care Providers and Services Users in the United States: Data from the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers, 2013-2014, and Health United States, 2015

Driving Troubles of Older Americans

Getting from here to there is a growing problem for many as they age. Ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft may solve this problem in the future. The potential market is huge. One in four Americans aged 65 or older reports having trouble getting places, according to the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. One in five has given up driving altogether, and one in three drives only in the daytime. Here are the percentages by age...

Has trouble getting places
65 to 74: 18.5%
75 to 84: 26.5%
85-plus: 44.6%

Limits driving to daytime
65 to 74: 24.8%
75 to 84: 39.2%
85-plus: 55.3%

Has given up driving altogether
65 to 74: 11.3%
75 to 84: 21.2%
85-plus: 46.5%

Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, Older Americans 2016: Key Indicators of Well-Being

Over the Hill

In a recent survey, AARP asked Americans at what age they think they will be over the hill. Here are the answers by generation...

Age at which you will be over the hill
Millennials: 56
Gen Xers: 62
Boomers: 75

Boomers in their fifties think they will be over the hill at age 74. Those in their sixties say it will be at age 76. People in their seventies say not until age 80.

Source: AARP, AARP Research: A Conversation Starter about Age

Prison Population Is Aging

The number of prisoners sentenced to at least one year in a state correctional institution climbed 55 percent between 1993 and 2013—from 858,000 to 1.3 million, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. That sounds like a big increase, but it pales in comparison to the 400 percent increase in the number of state prisoners aged 55 or older during those years. Prisoners aged 55-plus now account for 10 percent of the state prison population, up from 3 percent two decades ago.

"The changing age structure in the U.S. state prison population has implications for the future management and care of inmates," notes the Bureau of Justice Statistics report. The BJS analysis examines the reasons for the increase, such as longer prison sentences resulting in more prisoners aging into the 55-plus demographic.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Aging of the State Prison Population, 1993–2013