By 2030, over 21% of the U.S. population will be age 65 and over (Lazer 1986) and by 2050, the
number of people over the age of 60 worldwide is expected to almost quadruple to two billion
people (United Nations 1999). Average life expectancy for a human being born today is 67.6
years. In 1950, it was 46.6 years; in 2050 it will be 75.5 (AARP 2011). Additionally, as of 2010,
the average life expectancy was 78.2 years (World Bank 2012).