Global Aging: Opportunity or Threat for the U.S. Economy?

February 21, 2003 - (Washington, DC) U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, announced today that Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, will testify before his committee concerning the impacts of an aging world population. This is the first time Greenspan has spoken publicly about this issue.

The hearing, titled "Global Aging: Opportunity or Threat for the U.S. Economy?" will be held Thursday, February 27, starting at 10 a.m., in room 628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. It is anticipated that the hearing will be webcast on the Aging Committee's website located at http://aging.senate.gov

America's population of senior citizens is expected to double in the next 30 years to 71 million - up from 12.4 percent today to nearly 20 percent of the population by 2030. Worldwide, the number of senior citizens is projected to more than double in that same time from 420 million to 973 million.

These trends will place a greater burden on fewer people as they support an aging population - especially in the areas of Social Security and Medicare. An aging global population will also create:

PANEL I

Alan Greenspan, Chairman, Federal Reserve Board of Governors

PANEL II

1. Paul Hewitt, Director, Global Aging Initiative, Center for the Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.
2. Sylvester Schieber, Ph. D., Director, Research and Information, Watson-Wyatt Worldwide, Washington, D.C.
3. Gary Geipel, Ph.D., Vice President, Hudson Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana

Back