Age 65 makes it official: baby boomers are old.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Between 1946-65, more than 76,000,000 children were born in the U.S., and they would become the most influential generation of our time. However, now the first of the Baby Boomers are turning 65--officially hitting senior status. As this occurs, the U.S. is bracing for an extraordinary population shift, as this mass aging trend significantly could affect economic and social dynamics for decades to come, providing major challenges for families and huge opportunities for businesses in the senior care industry, points out Peter Ross, founder and CEO of Senior Helpers, St. Louis, Mo., an in-home senior care provider.

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In fact, about 10,000 Boomers will turn 65 every day, as the U.S. population adds one new senior every 13 seconds--and this will be happening for the next two decades. At present, there are about 37,000,000 seniors in the U.S., accounting for 12% of the population. As Boomers age over the next several years, their ranks will swell to more than...