There are projected to be about 2.4 million baby boomers — those Americans born during the post-World War II period of increased birth rate from 1946 to 1964 — still alive in 2060. The youngest of them would turn 96 years old that year. By the end of the baby boom period in 1964, baby boomers made up an estimated 40% of the US population, and by 2012, they represented 28% of the US population. Life expectancy in the US in 1940, just prior to the baby boom, was 63.5 years, and that number had increased to 78.3 years by 2010. As a result, entitlement programs for older Americans, such as Social Security to provide funds after retirement and Medicare for health insurance benefits, have been projected to be strained as more people use them for longer than was expected when the programs were established.
More about baby boomers:
- An estimated 76 million babies were born in the US during the baby boom, which averages out to about 10,000 babies a day.
- The US birth rate in 2011 was 50% less than the 1957 birth rate.
- The baby boom generation has been projected to be responsible for 70% of all disposable income spending — money spent on things such as interests and hobbies — in the US by 2017.