Baby Boomers Rule

by Larry Steward

If you were born between 1946 and 1964, you are considered a baby boomer. This group represents the largest generational birth cohort in U.S. history–nearly 76.5 million in total. Starting in 2011, Boomers began to hit the traditional retirement age of 65. According to AARP, Boomers will turn 65 at a rate of 10,000 a day over the next 18 years!

I feel left out - I was born in 1943.

How and why did this tidal wave of births happen?

Almost exactly nine months after World War II ended, “the cry of the baby was heard across the land,” as historian Landon Jones later described the trend. More babies were born in 1946 than ever before: 3.4 million, 20 percent more than in 1945. This was the beginning of the so-called “baby boom.”

In 1947, another 3.8 million babies were born; 3.9 million were born in 1952; and more than 4 million were born every year from 1954 until 1964, when the boom finally tapered off. By then, they made up almost 40 percent of the nation’s population.

Older Americans, who had postponed marriage and childbirth during the Great Depression and World War II, were joined in the nation’s maternity wards by young adults who were eager to start families.

(In 1940, the average American woman got married when she was almost 22 years old; in 1956, the average American woman got married when she was just 20. And just 8 percent of married women in the 1940s opted not to have children, compared to 15 percent in the 1930s.)

Many people in the postwar era looked forward to having children because they were confident that the future would be one of comfort and prosperity. In many ways, they were right: Corporations grew larger and more profitable, labor unions promised generous wages and benefits to their members, and consumer goods were more plentiful and affordable than ever before. As a result, many Americans felt certain that they could give their families all the material things that they themselves had done without.

Looking forward, by 2030 it is predicted that about one in five Americans will be older than 65, and some experts believe that the aging of the population will place a strain on social welfare systems.

Here are 10 facts about boomers you may not know:

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