Beyond 50.04: A Report to the Nation on Consumers in the Marketplace

In the future, the word "consumer" will increasingly mean "older consumer." This report examines the implications of this demographic change from a public policy perspective—more specifically, consumer information policy. It addresses a key question: What is needed in today's marketplace to assure that older consumers have the information and tools they need to make wise decisions concerning their financial security?

This report, the fourth in AARP's Beyond 50 series, discusses expenditures by the older consumer, factors that are increasing the difficulty of consumer decision making, older consumers as money managers, and recommendations for the future.

The lead author of the 50.04 report is George Gaberlavage of AARP's Public Policy Institute (PPI); other authors are Sharon Hermanson, Christopher Baker, Kellie K. Kim-Sung, Neal Walters, Mitja Ng-Baumhackl, Ann McLarty Jackson, and Gabriel Montes, all of PPI. (123 pages)

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Table of Contents and Executive Summary (PDF, 15 pages)
Part 1: A Growing Market: Expenditures of the Older Population (PDF, 14 pages)
Part 2: The Management Challenge (PDF, 34 pages)
Part 3: Report Recommendations (PDF, 34 pages)
Part 4: Special Analyses (PDF, 42 pages)
Appendices: Consumer Information (PDF, 20 pages)

Executive Summary (HTML)

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• Beyond 50.04 (Stock #D18098)

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