NIH: Number of senior citizens to nearly double by 2050

America’s 65-and-over population is projected to nearly double by 2050 to 88 million, according to a report on global aging released this week by the National Institutes of Health. The global population of people aged 80 and older is expected to more than triple over the period, while global life expectancy at birth is projected to increase by almost eight years, to 76.2. The report was prepared by the Census Bureau for the National Institute on Aging. “We are seeing population aging in every country in every part of the world,” said John Haaga, acting director of NIA’s Division of Behavioral and Social Research. “…Since population aging affects so many aspects of public life – acute and long-term health care needs; pensions, work and retirement; transportation; housing – there is a lot of potential for learning from each other’s experience.”