The Perfect Storm: the Silver Tsunami and the Challenges for their Children

Seniors make up the second largest portion of the current United States population. Many seniors are known as Baby Boomers. A baby boomer is a person born between the end of World War II in 1946 and 1964.

There were 76 million babies born during the post war “baby boom.” Now those Boomers are aging and 1.5 million of them live in New Jersey.

According to the National Census Bureau, the 65 and older population reached 55.8 million or 16.8% of the population of the United States in 2020. That’s one for every six people in the United States, which is a huge increase from one in 20 in the 1920 census.

The first Boomer turned 65 in 2011 and the numbers have increased ever year since then. The population will continue to age as the Baby Boomer generation continues to age with the last Boomer turning 65 in 2029. By 2030, all the Baby Boomers will be over the age of 65.

According to data from the last U.S. Census the numbers look like this:

In 2020, the 65-74 age group:

• Was the largest of the older age groups with 33.1 million people, representing over half of the 65-and-over population.
• Represented 1 in 10 Americans in 2020.
• Experienced the largest growth of any older age group the previous decade. Its numbers grew by 11.4 million or 52.5%, increasing from 21.7 mil­lion in 2010 to 33.1 million in 2020.

Other findings:

• The 75-to-84 age group grew at about half that rate (25.1%) but is expected to pick up pace in the next decade as baby boomers age into this group.
• The 85-to-94 age group experienced relatively slower growth (12.6%) than other older age groups, increasing from 5.1 million to 5.7 million.
• The population 95 years and over also expe­rienced a large growth rate (48.6%), increasing from about 425,000 in 2010 to 631,000 in 2020.

With so many adults aging and living longer than any other generation in history, a new term has been coined for their children—the sandwich generation. This term describes people who are simultaneously caring for children and aging parents.

Almost half (47%) of adults in their 40s or 50s have a parent age 65 or older who they care for, while also raising a young child or supporting a grown child, according to information from Banker’s Life. They struggle to balance raising their own family, work and caregiving. Almost one-third, or 32%, of the sandwich generation report that caregiving has had financial repercussions ranging from increasing their personal debt, using up savings or foregoing promotions at work.

These financial struggles mirror what the older generation is struggling with. Senior poverty increased since 2019 to 9.4% for those over 65 years old, according to United Health Foundation’s 11th annual America’s Health Rankings Senior Report for 2023.

More than 230,000 Garden State seniors face hunger, according to recent data from Fulfill, an organization in Monmouth and Ocean Counties that assists with food insecurity and other needs.

Demand for food in the Jersey Shore is 70% higher than this time last year, with Fulfill providing 1.2 million meals a month, said Jazmyn Ball, community engagement specialist at Fulfill. The People’s Pantry in Toms River hit peak service numbers in May 2023 by serving 12,073 people that month, a 40% increase in service from May 2022. Approximately half of the people that use the pantry are seniors.

Today’s seniors are also dealing with complex medical issues. The rate of multiple chronic conditions also went up by 14% since 2020 for senior citizens, according to the report.

Home care services are one way to help balance the work-children-aging parents struggle for adult children with a professional caregiver who can supplement the support they are giving to their loved one. These one-on-one care services are customized to what the person needs and are delivered in the comfort of the elder’s home.