What do you think of when you hear the word “senior”? Or more precisely, how do you feel when you hear yourself referred to by that adjective? I’ve posed that question to a few people recently, individuals who are in their 50’s and early 60’s, to see what response I’d get. Not so surprisingly, most of those I spoke to didn’t think of themselves in terms of being a “senior citizen”. Why not? To begin to answer that question (or really to question that answer), let’s look at other contexts of the word senior.

My first personal experience with the word “senior” was in 1973 when I entered the 10th grade as a high school “freshman”. I quickly learned that the students in 12th grade, i.e. the “seniors”, had everything I wanted in life. Many of them drove cars to school, they played on the varsity sports teams, they dominated every school activity, and basically led the privileged life. “Senior” was the best! (On a related note, a good friend in high school was named after his father, making him Mike, Jr. - he couldn’t wait for college to move out from under the dominant shadow of his father, Mike, “Sr.”. Again, “senior” being a position of envy!)

In business, I have had occasion to need legal counsel and representation on a few matters. When given a choice of either having an associate lawyer, a junior partner, or “senior” partner to represent me, guess which one I chose? Funny, isn’t it, how those senior partners command a larger hourly rate as well. In other business matters, a corporation’s senior debts are obligations that take priority over all others.

In my research of the usage of “senior” in common situations, it is always defined as meaning “better or best”, “higher in rank or privilege”, or “held in higher regard and respect”. Why is it that when link the word “senior” with the word “citizen” that is loses this widely accepted definition? It hasn’t always been that way.

A Historical Perspective - the Good Ol’ Days

When our nation was founded, being an elder or senior citizen was a highly valued distinction. Most social status came from land ownership, which was most always retained by elder parent or grandparents. Old age was actually so desired that men and women alike actually embellished their age when asked! The appearance of age was much sought after, with men and women wearing powdered wigs to give the illusion of a more mature age.

It was not until the late 19th century that a particular age was identified as being “senior”. In 1881, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck selected 65 as the age at which citizens would be able to participate in Germany’s first national pension plan. In 1881, the average life expectancy was only 45! When Franklin Roosevelt created our Social Security system in 1935, this same age was adopted as the age of eligibility, even though by then average life expectancy had grown to 63 years. Today, our life expectancy is surpassing 76+ years on the average, and continues to grow by about 100 days per year. (That’s 2 days per week. So go ahead and have that piece of cheesecake.) With this same life expectancy growth rate, the average 65 year old today can expect to live another 18 years.

The Boomers are Blooming

The so-called “baby boomers” will have a profound effect on the way our society regards its senior population. The post World War II population explosion that has just crept past the half century mark will turn 60 by the year 2007. In the year 2000, Americans over age 50 totaled 76 million - more older Americans than total Americans in the year 1900. The financial statistics of our 50+ population are staggering, controlling approximately 70% of our country’s wealth with over $7,000,000,000,000 in assets (that’s seven trillion in case you got lost in the zero’s!); representing 66% of all stockholders; owning 60 percent of all annuities; purchasing 41% of all new cars; and owning 40 percent of all mutual funds. To go with the massive financial power of the senior population, the political influence is equally as sobering. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 70.1 percent of people between the ages of 65 and 74 participate in the elective process compared with 42.9 percent of those ages 25 to 34. To quote Ken Dychtwald from his new book “Age Power”, “America is becoming a gerontocracy.”

The New “Seniors”

Most of society is still under the false impression that when you retire, you must decrease the level of your activities and physical exertion, cut back on your spending because of fixed finances, and take an overall reduction in your lifestyle and enjoyment of life. While many people over 65 are impoverished, and/or require higher levels of health care, they are clearly in the overall minority in this group. Most are healthy individuals, independent in thinking, finance, and lifestyles. The typical “life model” to which many of us have grown accustomed is changing rapidly. No longer should we plan to “retreat and retire” to one final extended furlough, but rather take advantage of the time in our lives that we can continue to grow and mature. If we all believe the “senior citizen” stereotypes of the past, it may cause us to miss the most fruitful years of our lives.

Unfortunately, our nation is missing a great opportunity to harvest a tremendous natural resource of knowledge from our seniors and learn from what should be considered a national treasure of wisdom and life experiences. Today, we all enjoy a high level of prosperity and freedom that are the fruits of the labor of our seniors’ resolution to commitment, duty and sacrifice. It is time that we replant this wisdom in the greenhouse of the next generation. So, the next time you are referred to as a senior citizen, don’t renounce your societal status, celebrate it!

Mr. Gary Crooms is President and founder of Senior Information Services of America®, a long term care financial planning firm that specializes in assisting seniors and their families with late life planning issues. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Crooms at gary@seniorinformation.com