Introduction

Steve Smedley/The Pantagraph, via Associated Press

A recent Times article noted that the number of men age 65 and older increased by 21 percent from 2000 to 2010, nearly double the 11.2 percent growth rate for women in that age group.

What are the implications -- the benefits and the costs -- of having more men around longer? While most experts say it may be only a blip, some demographers say that a surprisingly rapid rise in the number of men could cost society even more in retirement costs, since they earned more than women and would collect more, and they would add to the long-term care problem.

Other forecasters see economic as well as social advantages: if there are more couples, and shorter widowhoods, the spouses might take care of each other's chronic conditions, perhaps reducing the burden on nursing homes, for example -- or maybe increasing the appeal of plastic surgery among older men and women interested in finding a mate and looking as young as they feel.

How might this narrowing gap change society and male-female relationships?

