Nearly half of North Carolina’s private-sector workers—more than 1.8 million people—don’t have a way to save for retirement through their employers. AARP hopes to change that by pushing for the creation of a state-facilitated retirement savings program during the upcoming legislative session.
The North Carolina Institute of Medicine Task Force on Healthy Aging, on which AARP holds a seat, is slated to release a report this summer on ways the state can promote healthy aging.
AARP North Carolina is working to make it easier for residents to get advance directives in place on how they want to be cared for during a serious illness.
By 2029, every fifth North Carolinian will be 65 or older. By 2031, there will be more people 65 and older than there will be children. AARP North Carolina is working to ensure the state is prepared for this. It is a member of the newly created Task Force on Healthy Aging, a project of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine.
According to the 2020 American Community Survey (conducted by the Census Bureau), North Carolina’s population grew by 12 percent from 2010 to 2020, 75 percent of which came from a rise in the number of residents age 50-plus.
An AARP study finds that 77 percent of Americans 50 and older want to age in place, and home became central to people’s lives during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the average age of the population is rising and affordable housing can be hard to find.