PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — New state population projections for Rhode Island suggest an aging population will have “significant impacts” on the state’s future.
The new forecasts, released this week by the state, say that by 2040 one out of four Rhode Islanders will be 65 or older. People 65 and older now make up 14 percent of the state’s population.
The trend reflects the aging of baby boomers, a declining birth rate and the fact that more people are leaving Rhode Island than moving into the state.
The numbers suggest the state’s workforce will shrink as retirees increase in number, and that governments will have to spend more on programs serving seniors.
The projections show that over all, the state’s population will either stay flat or decline through 2020.