The Baby Boomers Age and Their History

The \”Baby Boomers\” are the generation defined as being born between the years 1946 and 1964. This is a post-World War II demographic that is often called the \”American High\”, referring to the economic prosperity enjoyed by Americans after the end of the war. Today, roughly twenty-five percent of the American population consists of those born during the baby boomers age.

Statistically, the baby boom began in 1946, about one year after the end of World War II. Its sudden occurrence was the result of a large number of U. S. Soldiers and military employees returning home from the war, eager to return to their home lives and start their families. In January of 1946, there were about 223,000 births in the United States; by October, nine months later, the rate increased to nearly 340,000.

There were about thirty-two million births in the decade of the 1940s; this was an increase of 25% from the total count of the 1930s of about twenty-four million. In 1954, the highest annual birth rate in American history was reached at four million. In the following ten years – until 1965 – the annual rate never dropped below that number.

The late-1940s to the mid-1960s was a time of optimism and prosperity for America. The government passed the Serviceman\’s Readjustment Act (also known as the G. I. Bill) in 1944, which offered a wide range of benefits for returning veterans, including business loans, low-cost mortgages for homes, and payments for college tuition. It gave veterans excellent control over their personal finances, and the opportunity to establish prosperous post-war lives.

Like America, Canada also experienced a dramatic increase in births during this time. Canadians generally date it from 1947 to 166. The correlation between the return of military employees and the increased birth rate is evident, as the majority of Canada\’s veterans returned home about one year after America\’s.

Overseas, most European countries underwent the same phenomenon. Each European nation\’s timetable of the rise in births is about the same, with the first year being between 1946 and 1948. This, again, corresponds roughly to the year in which each country\’s troops returned from the war.

The average human today from the baby boomers age is between 48 and 66 years old. Currently, the majority of this age range is either entering retirement or is already retired. The results are evident in our society; the science of gerontology is expanding greatly; Social Security is maintaining more business than it ever has before; and retirement homes in America are not only expanding, but are also increasing in numbers. In the 21st century\’s third decade, the 2030s, scientists expect a sudden decrease in our population, as the result of the demographic reaching the average life expectancy in America.

As Baby Boomers age, they are placing an increasing amount of pressure on health and social conventions. If you are a Baby Boomer you should prepare yourself for retirement carefully.

The Baby Boomers Age and Their History