u. s. labor force is expected to stabilize. these anticipated changes in the age structure of our population and work force result largely from the decline in fertility that occurred following the birth of the baby - boom generation. after peaking in 1957 at about 3 - 1 / 2 births over a woman's lifetime, the fertility rate in the united states fell to less than 2 by the early 1970s, and then rose to about 2. 1 by 1990. since then, the fertility rate has remained close to 2. 1, the so - called replacement rate, or the level required to hold the population constant in the absence of immigration or changes in longevity. the decrease in the number of children per family since the baby boom has inevitably led, with a lag, to a projected increase in the ratio of elderly to working - age population. increases in life expectancy, too, have been substantial. in 1950, a man 65 years of age could expect, on average, to live until age 78, whereas now he can expect to live until over 81. and if current trends continue, by 2025 he can expect to live to 83 and, by 2060, to 85. women's life expectancy is projected to increase about the same amount, from 81 in 1950 to roughly 85 today, 86 in 2025 and 88 in 2060. of course, it is difficult to predict the age structure of the population in the more distant future. although we have a good idea of the size of the working - age population over the next twenty years or so - its members are largely already born - forecasting the number of children and future immigration and population growth is much more conjectural. just recently, for example, the united nations revised its forecast of world fertility rates downward from its projection only three years earlier ; the fertility rate used here is the total fertility rate. it is measured as the average number of children who would be born to a woman in her lifetime if she were to experience the birth rates by age observed in any given year. according to the new forecast, world population is expected to begin actually declining in the latter part of this century, whereas under the previous forecast, it was expected to continue growing. even with the substantial uncertainty that surrounds these forecasts, population aging in the developed world is not likely to be a temporary phenomenon, associated solely with the retirement of the baby - boom generation. rather, under current projections, the retirement of that generation should be viewed as hastening

reasons. first, the financial industry incorporated information technology into its business processes many years ago and since then has encouraged innovations in business process to achieve efficiency and security. as a result, industry participants are extremely knowledgeable about technology and the related operations risk. second, financial institutions understand that it is in their best business interest to make business continuity planning an executive management issue, requiring top - level involvement and not insignificant investment. preparations for the century date change gave us a much clearer understanding of the financial system's dependence on technology and on the complexities of managing operations risk. once institutions understood the considerable business risks that would result if they could not serve customers, they moved the management of y2k preparations out of the back office and onto the desks of product - line and senior managers. firms understand that they must manage not only business risks flowing from operational issues but also inherent reputational and legal risks. the century date change provided other benefits as well. in preparing for y2k, financial institutions modernized and incorporated security products and procedures into their information systems. they also updated and tested contingency plans and backup facilities. we found that because of the staff training and industry testing that occurred around the century date change, employees of financial institutions and within our own agencies were still relatively well - informed about contingency procedures and arrangements, and followed them. though not perfect, these plans worked well. third, financial institutions have long understood the need for strong internal controls and physical security. as banks increased reliance on information technology, they naturally incorporated measures to ensure the security of information. moreover, financial institutions recognized immediately that the increasing role of information system networks and the internet in the financial markets engendered new risks, and they became leaders in addressing cyberprotection issues. in 1999, industry participants established and funded one of the first information sharing and analysis centers ( isacs ). more than forty of our largest banks, securities and insurance firms, investment companies, and financial utilities, representing a significant portion of assets in the financial system, participate in the isac. the isac maintains an industrywide database of electronic security threats, vulnerabilities, incidents, and solutions. security specialists analyze reports and distribute to members warnings and information about threats and solutions or mitigation procedures. financial institutions also actively participate in a number of other information - sharing organizations, such as the federal computer incident response center ( fedcirc ) and the system administration, networking, and security institute ( sans ).