It makes sound fiscal sense to act now rather than to react later. The proportion of adults in the United States over age 65 is the largest in history and will continue to grow rapidly over the coming decades. The growth of the population aged 85 and older is even more dramatic, the size of this group is increasing at much higher rates than any other segment of U.S. society. Aging is marked by gender and ethnic differences. Due largely to longer life expectancies, aging is disproportionately a women's issue.
Ethnic diversity is also an important issue.
The number of older ethnic minority adults is increasing more rapidly than for the population as a whole. Throughout this document, we emphasize the need to examine gender and ethnic differences in all aspects of aging. The science of psychology offers solutions to key societal problems. Psychologists bring an important perspective to solving social problems by considering individuals in the context of their entire life span rather than only at a certain static point in development. Psychologists view people as members of complex and dynamic social units consisting of multiple generations within families, acquaintances, and friendships, as well as social systems.