Economic pressures trigger seniors' concerns about finances, assisted living housing

While The Wall Street Journal and Kaiser Health News report on the current dark side of aging in America, The Associated Press offers insights into how baby boomer interest in countering the effects of getting older could lead to billions of dollars in spending.

The Wall Street Journal: For Many Seniors, There May Be No Retirement
Many older people are finding themselves in a position they never expected to be in at retirement age: still working or in need of a job. … More than three in five U.S. workers in their 50s and 60s plan on working past 65 -; and 47 percent of that group say they'll do so because they'll need the money or health benefits, according to a 2011 study from the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (Ensign, 8/21).

Kaiser Health News: Housing Bust Derails Some Seniors' Assisted Living Care
Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Harris Meyer writes: "In the fourth year of a depressed real estate market, experts say thousands of seniors remain unable to move into senior housing because they can't sell their homes quickly enough or for the price they need. The upshot: Greater pressure on families to pay for parents' and grandparents' placements, or to care for them themselves" (Meyer, 8/21).

The Associated Press: Boomers Will Be Spending Billions To Counter Aging
Baby boomers heading into what used to be called retirement age are providing a 70 million-member strong market for legions of companies, entrepreneurs and cosmetic surgeons eager to capitalize on their "forever young" mindset, whether it's through wrinkle creams, face-lifts or workout regimens. It adds up to potential bonanza. The market research firm Global Industry Analysts projects that a boomer-fueled consumer base, "seeking to keep the dreaded signs of aging at bay," will push the U.S. market for anti-aging products from about $80 billion now to more than $114 billion by 2015. The boomers, who grew up in a culture glamorizing youth, face an array of choices as to whether and how to be a part of that market (Crary, 8/20).