Conference to address care for aging boomers

Here come the “abbies.”

That’s short for “aging baby boomers,” the newest nickname for the 78 million Americans who have transformed this country at each stage of life.

Now, as the eldest boomers prepare to turn 60 next year, they’re set to reinvent old age in America.

The generation that once declared “Never trust anyone over 30” is now proclaiming that “60 is the new 30.”

Every decade, the White House Conference on Aging convenes to tackle the challenge of caring for our aging population. Boomers present the biggest challenges yet because of their size and their attitudes toward growing old.

This year’s conference, which begins in Washington today and runs four days, will recommend to President Bush and Congress how the nation can accommodate the doubling of its older population over the next 25 years.

“The graying of America constitutes a demographic revolution and presents the most critical public policy issue of our times,” said Paul Hodge, director of the Harvard Generations Policy Program.

“Boomers will be living younger longer,” he said. “Their redefinition of retirement will have enormous implications for society – in the workplace, in health care, literally everywhere.”

Americans who turn 60 next year can expect to live, on average, 22 more years.

The conference’s 1,200 delegates were appointed by governors, Congress and conference organizers and are a diverse lot, said policy committee Chairwoman Dorcas Hardy.

This year’s most pressing issues include saving for retirement, paying for long-term care and helping older workers stay in the workplace longer.

“Some want the government to pay for your old age; others think it’s your personal responsibility. But I trust we’ll figure out ways to get ready for our longevity revolution,” Hardy said.

The oldest boomers will start qualifying for federal aid through the Older Americans Act on Jan. 1 and are two years away from collecting Social Security.

Earlier White House conferences on aging are remembered as political watersheds that helped create Medicare and Medicaid, reform Social Security and establish the National Institute on Aging.

Many experts on aging say they can’t predict the outcome of this conference.

“After approving a $700 billion Medicare drug benefit, lawmakers may think they’ve done enough,” said Phoebe Liebig, associate professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California.