The challenges of baby boomers reaching old age, combined with a growing, more diverse population, will drive major changes, challenges and decisions in U.S. families, workplaces and communities, according to a new report by the Stanford Center on Longevity.

The report, “New Realities of an Older America: Challenges, Changes and Questions,” brings together the latest statistics from a range of sources, including academic research and government statistics. Key findings include:

• The number of older people (age 65 and over) will double over the next 30 years, from 40 million to 80 million, and the percentage of older people in the population will increase from 13% to 20%. By the time the youngest baby boomers turn 65 in 2029, 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 or older. The percentage of 85-year-olds will grow even faster.
• Diversity will increase among older people, with minorities accounting for 60% of the growth among those 65 or older.
• If retirement is not delayed, there will be fewer and fewer potential workers per retiree. Longer working lives, in contrast, would make use of the most educated older population in the history of the country.
• Suburbs, designed for traditional nuclear families, increasingly will be home to singles and older couples.

“These unprecedented demographic developments require urgent action. A deep understanding of the issues is required in order for societies to deal effectively with new realities,” said Laura L. Carstensen PhD, director of the Center on Longevity.

To read the report online, go to http://longevity.stanford.edu/files/New%20Realities%20of%20an%20Older%20America_0.pdf.