Seniors and aging baby boomers have criticized Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to replace Medicare with private vouchers, and figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau suggest the issue isn’t going away.

‘That’s a huge financial burden the government is facing,’ said Vivian Ho, a health economist at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

It is likely to get worse as the population grows older.

The median age in the United States – meaning half of people are older and half are younger – was 37.2, according to the 2010 Census.

Just 20 years ago, it was 32.

Lindsay Howden, a statistician with the bureau’s age and special populations branch, said the increase is a result of aging baby boomers, longer life spans and stable, rather than growing, birth rates.

While the ranks of middle-aged and older Americans are growing rapidly, the youngest age groups are expanding much more slowly.

The number of people between 44 and 64 increased by 31.5 percent over the past decade, while those 65 and older grew 15.1 percent, Howden said. But the number of people younger than 18 grew 2.6 percent.

That indicates fewer workers in the future, even as their taxes will be needed to support more retirees through […]