AARP Global Report on Aging: Winter 2004
[Winter 2004 - AARP] European Union Commissioner and Australian business leader make the case for older workers.


AARP Releases New Quality-of-Life Index for 50 America: For Many, Life is Improving; But Vulnerabilities Remain
[5 February 2004 - AARP] AARP released the first-ever annual 'AARP Quality of Life Index' of people aged 50 and above. It shows that over the past decade, life for boomers and their parents has generally improved. However, there are some striking vulnerabilities. Americans aged 50 to 64 improved on every economic measure over the decade. Older individuals (65 ) improved on most measures, except that their share of income from sources other than Social Security declined, and their employment rate and self-reported health status also decreased.

"The State of 50+ America" Summary: Despite setbacks in financial markets over the past few years plus the lingering effects of the recent recession, midlife and older Americans are measurably better off today, sometimes substantially so, than they were a decade ago, and two-thirds of them remain optimistic about their retirement prospects. In the first of a planned series of annual reports from AARP, the well-being of the 50+ population is evaluated in terms of 20 key indicators reflecting four dimensions of well-being - economics, health, lifestyle, and independent living/long-term care. Although the report shows favorable trends on almost all measures over the past decade, the age 50+ population has not fared so well in the near term, doing worse on all but two of the economic and health indicators analyzed in the most recent year, and declining on 10 of 15 indicators of well-being overall, although the one-year changes were often very small. The report also discusses the effects of declining equity prices and low interest rates on retirement and investment decisions, and concludes with individual commentaries by consumer affairs columnist Jane Bryant Quinn and economists Alan S. Blinder of Princeton University, Alice Rivlin of the Brookings Institution and Georgetown University, and Robert J. Shiller of Yale University.

Read full report (PDF file): The State of 50 America