By 2050, There Could Be as Many as 25 Million Poor Elderly Americans

(Dec. 30) -A back-of-the-envelope estimate suggests that the number of elderly Americans in poverty will increase substantially in the coming decades. In 2010, 46.6 million Americans were over 65.  Using ​the OECD’s ​measure of impoverishment, which takes into account food insecurity and chronic material need, about 8.9 million of those Americans were poor or near-poor. Based on current rates of population growth and assuming no improvements in what is promised in Social Security benefits, there’s likely to be an increase in the numbers of elderly poverty from 8.9 million in 2010 to 25 million in 2050—an increase of 180 percent.