Elderly population

South Florida, which 40 years ago gave birth to senior citizen icons such as the early bird special and condo commando, is a retirement mecca no more, according to new Census statistics released Wednesday.

Broward County lost 4 percent of its 65-plus population between 2000 and 2010, the Census reported, while Palm Beach County gained a modest 9 percent.

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Florida just isn't what it used to be for retirees.

Meet Patti Keagy, an American Baby Boomer, who is looking at other possible retirement destinations.

"My mother says her generation and other people that she knew made a mistake. They sold everything and they moved down to Florida," said Keagy, a resident of a Boston suburb.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida seniors were so rattled by proposed changes to Social Security emerging in the U.S. political debate that their consumer confidence levels plunged more than that of any other age group in August, an economic survey showed.

And that was before Texas Governor Rick Perry called the popular retirement program a "Ponzi scheme" during last week's debate among Republican presidential candidates.

Florida, once the nation's oldest state, is losing some of its gray.

Thanks to a lull in retiree migration and an increase in working-age adults, Florida has dropped three places to become the fifth-oldest state in the nation, according to census data released Thursday.

SEBRING - Among the census projections released by the University of Florida is this: By 2030, Highlands County will have 51,000 residents who are 65 or older.

"I believe it," said Debra Worley, a Lake Placid real estate agent and town councilor. "The baby boomers are the reason. They're all going to be aged out by then."

Boomers were born after World War II, from 1946 to 1964. The first boomer turned 65 in 2011, so by 2030, the oldest boomers will be 84.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Increased optimism about making major purchases played a significant role in consumer confidence rising two points in July to 68, according to a new University of Florida survey.

Four of the five components that make up the index increased or remained unchanged. The biggest improvement was in confidence to purchase big-ticket items such as cars and appliances which rose five points to 77.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Consumer confidence among Floridians declined for the fourth time in five months — falling to 66 in June — as the U.S. economy continues to sputter, according to a new University of Florida survey.

The 55- to 64-year-old population in some fast-growing suburban counties around cities such as Denver and Atlanta more than doubled from 2000 to 2010, according to 2010 Census data out today.

The surge in older residents is in three distinct clusters, according to demographic profiles released so far on 37 states and the District of Columbia:

THE VILLAGES — She is around 67.8 years of age, and the numbers of her demographic the past 10 years grew proportionally faster in The Villages than those of her male counterpart. Meet Heide Eide and her fun Village of Largo friends and neighbors — Jane Gracan, Carmela D’Aloisio and Susan Sarlo — the face of The Villages, newly released 2010 census data suggests. At age 67, Eide fits perfectly into the median age bracket for women in The Villages Census Designated Place, the U.S. Census Bureau announced this morning in an embargoed information release.