Baby Boomers are turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 a day for the next 15 - 20 years. By 2030, there will be 74 million Baby Boomers age 65 or older. This huge demographic will have a tremendous impact on our country. The real question is where are all these people going to live. Half of them have little in savings and so their Social Security income, assuming it still exists in its present form, will be most of their monthly earnings.
Even today, 65% of those who need home care and or assisted living is being paid for by Medicaid. That basically means that they have no means to pay for their own care so the government must step in to provide financial assistance. This entitlement actually happened with the passage of ObamaCare. However, when 30 or 40 million Baby Boomers can't care for themselves in the next 20 years, the government will face an impossible situation. With Social Security and Medicare headed toward insolvency if something is not done pretty quick adding this Medicaid entitlement to the mix is going to lead to huge government deficits.
From a housing perspective families may start to recognize that they may have to care for their aging parents. We could see more situations where Mom or Dad moves in with one of their children. This could have an implication related to housing design. Many news homes are now being built to accommodate multi generational living with mother in law suites. I suspect we will see housing additions and or renovations to allow for Mom or Dad moving in with one of their children because they will not be able to afford any other solution. This could be a back to the future moment as occurred decades ago when parents lived with their children.
The next 20 years will present many challenges related to caring for this Baby Boom generation. There will have to be solutions for many that combine family and government assistance. The day is coming fast.
