The OLD North State: Aging NC to Cause ‘Fiscal Tsunami’?

From the Civitas Institute:

There is a significant demographic change occurring in North Carolina that virtually no one is talking about. A change that will have major implications for the state’s fiscal health for decades to come.

With the ageing of the baby boom generation (born 1946-1964), North Carolina is witnessing a meaningful shift in the income source of its residents, as retirement income replaces wage income for more and more seniors in the Tar Heel State.

State budget writers need to pay attention to this shift, as it has serious implications for budget and tax policy in the coming years.

Research provided in a legislative memo from the Fiscal Research Division’s chief economist finds that in North Carolina “retirement income has nearly doubled as a share of total Federal Adjusted Gross Income from 5.7% in 1991 to 10.3% in 2013.”

Moreover, the research showed that our state’s population of residents over 65 as a share of total population grew from 12.2 percent in 2006 to 15 percent in 2015. The memo added “The State Data Center projects that by 2030 over 20% of North Carolina’s population will be 65 or older.”

In short, in just a dozen years, one in five North Carolinians will be age 65 or over. A significant share of which will be fully or partially retired.

What impact will this have on North Carolina’s economy?

Find out here.