According to AARP, Elderly Workers Are Florida’s Hidden Economy
The American Association of Retired Persons has conducted a study that shows that Florida’s elderly population feeds its economy. Workers age 50 and up, while only a small portion of the state’s population (30 percent), offer a huge and positive benefit to the economy as compared to younger workers.
These workers make up over half of the state’s economic output at 54 percent and hold 58 percent of the state’s jobs. The elderly population forks over up to 67 percent of Florida’s taxes, pays for over half (53 percent) of the state’s employee compensation and in fact makes up 58 percent of the entire state’s total consumer spending.
The findings are important because many critics have previously argued that the elderly population of Florida is a drain on the economy. They have used this argument to quash attempts to advertise the state to this population. The AARP Florida state representative presented the findings at Orlando’s Florida Chamber Foundation’s Future of Florida Forum. He argued that the results should be used as evidence to support measures designed to attract senior citizens to the Sunshine State through favorable legislative and tax benefits.
The argument is an important one, as Florida has historically been the number one place for retirees, but has begun to slip in recent years. Places like North Carolina and Tennessee have gone out of their way to attract the population through aggressive campaigning. In Florida, meanwhile, limited Medicaid benefits and a lack of advertising has hit this growth industry hard. Rather than trying to draw elderly citizens, the state has left these efforts to the private industry, which lacks the finances and ability to bring in such a large population.
The good news for Florida’s senior population is that there is a number of excellent estate options available to them here. To learn more about planning and managing your assets, consult the estate planning attorneys at BaumannKangas Estate Law. in Florida.