According to gerontologist, psychologist and best-selling author Ken Dychtwald, old age just "ain't" what it used to be--and that's a good thing, both for the legions of American baby boomers approaching retirement age and for the thousands of franchised businesses with products and services to sell them.

Dychtwald, the founder of Age Wave, a leading consulting firm specializing in age-related issues, pointed out that the 65-year milestone commonly accepted as the "normal" retirement age is an arbitrary benchmark, one institutionalized in the 1880s by Otto von Bismarck, when he was formulating Europe's first pension plan.

At that time, life expectancy in Europe and the United States was about 45 years. Using the same set of parameters as von Bismarck used more than 125 years ago, today's retirement age would be almost 100. The point is, there is a longevity revolution underway in the United States, Europe and many other parts of the world. Advances in science, medicine and technology over the past century have increased average life expectancy to almost 80 years, and Dychtwald believes it can be extended by another 40 to 60 years in the future.

The aging of the population will have repercussions for just about every aspect of human existence, from health care and social service policies to housing, trade and commerce. Its impact can already be seen in the explosion of franchise businesses in the senior care and services sector, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

With the massive baby boom generation set to begin turning 65 in 2010, the number of Americans in the 65-plus demographic will climb to more than 70 million within 20 years. Eventually, many of them will become potential customers for senior care providers. Long before that, however, their new attitudes about age and aging are likely to affect franchise businesses in many other industry segments in ways they have only begun to imagine.

International consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu recently addressed some of these issues in a research report, "Wealth with Wisdom: Serving the Needs of Aging Consumers." The report concludes that:

"Due to dramatic demographic changes around the globe and the aging of the baby boomer market, by 2008, companies in a range of sectors--including the consumer packaged goods, retail, financial services, health care, automotive, real estate and hotel and lodging businesses--will have to focus with ever greater savvy on serving the needs of a very different type of consumer: one that is age 50+ or older with shifting biological, psychological, social and economic characteristics, needs and expectations."

Notable in the Deloitte report is that many of the industry segments mentioned as likely to be affected by this age wave are segments in which franchising plays an important role. While the coming changes will present many challenges for franchise businesses, they will also present opportunities.

"Consumer product and service companies that start now to assess, adjust and update their product offerings to best serve this evolving and increasingly influential 50+ market will be far more likely to grow their consumer base and to reap great rewards," said Ajit Kambil, director of research at Deloitte Services LP and one of the authors of the report.

When baby boomers reach any stage of life, the issues that concern them tend to dominate the marketplace themes of the times. "Until recently, corporations, marketers and entrepreneurs paid little attention to men and women over age 50," Dychtwald said.

But Americans in their 50s and older currently earn more than $2 trillion in annual income, own more than 70 percent of the nation's personal financial assets and represent 50 percent of all discretionary spending power.

"In fact, their per capita discretionary spending is 2.5 times more than the average of younger households and is particularly strong in the financial services, health care, leisure, wellness and beauty products categories," he noted.

The scope of opportunities to be met will be vast, and it will increase as the percentage of the total population aged 50 and up continues to grow. According to "The Maturing of America," a report described as the most comprehensive ever on the aging-readiness of America, fewer than half of U.S. cities and counties have plans in place to meet the needs of aging baby boomers.

That is significant on two levels. First, it underlines the extent to which the host of emerging age-related challenges and opportunities has yet to be addressed. Second, it suggests that the task of meeting those challenges and seizing those opportunities will fall largely to the private sector, including many franchise businesses.

"America and its communities are aging rapidly," according to the report, which was led by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) and funded by the MetLife Foundation.

"As the baby boom generation born between 1946 and 1964 reaches retirement age, the number of Americans over age 65 is expected to reach 71.5 million by 2030--twice their number in the year 2000," the report states. "At that point, one out of every five people in the nation will be an older adult."

While the primary purpose of the report was to identify the "aging readiness" of 10,000 local governments and American communities, the areas of need it highlighted provide a roadmap for business opportunities, franchise and otherwise. Among them are:

Health care. Access to affordable health care and preventive services is a growing concern among older adults, a population segment at greater risk of suffering from acute and chronic diseases. In one-third of communities surveyed for the n4a report, older adults did not have access to a range of such services, including health education, community-based health screenings and counseling on prescription drug programs.

Nutrition. An estimated 4 million older adults in the U.S. are currently affected by food insecurity or the inability to afford, prepare or gain access to food. While many communities have programs providing home-delivered meals for older adults, growth in demand is likely to mushroom as the aging of the population continues.

Private-sector companies will be called on to meet that demand, especially as it expands beyond the confines of the financially needy. Demand for nutritional counseling among seniors is also expected to boom.

Exercise. Despite extensive research showing that exercise can greatly increase overall muscle strength, bone density, agility and general function and improve overall quality of life for older adults, too few get enough of it. Specialists on aging recommend that seniors have access to a range of fitness programs to improve their health and well-being.

A number of fitness and exercise franchises targeting older consumers have already hit the market, and their numbers are growing. "Part of the appeal is providing a comfortable atmosphere where older consumers can work out with their peers," explained the owner of one such franchise. "Many older people find the iron-pumping atmosphere in a conventional gym intimidating."

Transportation. Reduced mobility is one of the big challenges many people face as they get older. It can put them at higher risk for poor health, isolation and loneliness. Like most adults, older Americans rely primarily on private automobiles to meet their mobility needs, but age-related physical limitations may restrict or eliminate an older adult's ability to drive.

Many seniors who are unable to drive would still be able to live independently if they had access to available, adequate, affordable and accessible transportation, according to n4a. Currently, however, only about half of U.S. communities provide "dial-a-ride" or other door-to-door transportation services for older adults, leaving a huge hole that private-sector companies are beginning to step in to fill.

Housing. Multiple studies have confirmed that older adults overwhelmingly prefer to "age in place" in their existing homes and communities, but in many cases they find it necessary to modify their home or move to one that is more accessible, affordable or appropriate in size to accommodate their changing needs.

Franchises in the construction and remodeling industry are already responding to this trend, and growth in the 55-plus population is expected to be a major driver of demand for construction and remodeling services in the coming years. Americans aged 55 and older will head 40 percent of all households by 2012, according to new research from the 50+ Housing Council, an arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

"There is no question that the 55-plus segment is a large and growing share of the housing market," said Paul Emrath, a housing policy analyst for NAHB. The council's latest research findings have major implications for the nation's housing industry in the decade ahead, he added.

The council's research found that most 55-plus households (there are more than 26 million of them already) are not residing in age-qualified or other senior-oriented communities but in regular housing. About 75 percent of people over age 45 are homeowners, and most 55-plus households report being happy with their current homes.

As a result, demand for new homes designed to make it easier for people to age in place is increasing rapidly, said Norman Cohen, chairman of the 50+ Housing Council. Older people who don't want to move will turn to remodelers to make modifications to their existing homes so their various needs can be accommodated as they age.

A recent Remodeling Market Index survey found that 75 percent of professional remodelers have observed an increase in the number of requests for aging-in-place modifications. Common modifications include step-less entries, replacing doorknobs with lever handles, low- or no-maintenance exteriors, open floor plans and improved lighting design.

Another housing-related industry with a strong franchising presence that has begun targeting the senior market is real estate. Several leading real estate brokerage franchise systems have developed special training and programs to help their franchisees capitalize on this burgeoning market opportunity.

In many cases, older adults have motivations for buying or selling a home that differ from those of the general population. Some are looking to replace a larger home with a smaller, low-maintenance residence after their families are grown. Others may be looking to free up capital to fund their retirement.

Demand is also growing among older adults for reverse mortgages, a financial instrument that may allow them to stay in their home and simultaneously fund their need for long-term care. A study conducted by the National Council on Aging (NCA) found that reverse mortgages hold the potential to increase private sector funding for in-home services and supports by more than $950 billion.

"One of the paradoxes of our long-term care system is that impaired, older Americans are struggling to live at home at a time when they own more than $2 trillion in untapped housing wealth," said Barbara Stucki, director of the study project for NCA. More than 80 percent of Americans aged 65 and older were homeowners in 2004, and more than half the net worth of seniors is currently illiquid in their homes and other real estate.

Aging and eldercare services. This segment represents perhaps the most immediate and fastest-growing area of age-related opportunities in franchising. More than two dozen franchise companies are listed in the directory section of The Franchise Handbook under the heading, "Senior Care/Services," a category that did not even exist a few years ago.

As noted in the n4a study, "As long as people age, they may need a range of supportive services to assist them in aging successfully in their homes and communities for as long as possible. However, currently older adults and their caregivers must navigate a maze of fragmented systems in order to access services."

Many of the franchise companies referenced above were created as a way for aging consumers and their families to address that problem, and new ones are springing up all the time. The demographic juggernaut driving demand in this area is unstoppable:

Many caregivers are members of the growing "sandwich generation," burdened with raising their own families and trying to save for their children's college educations and their own retirements at the same time as caring for elderly parents or relatives.

Not surprisingly, eldercare is becoming an issue for corporate America, as the skyrocketing population of older adults affects a growing number of businesses large and small. As more employees face challenges caring for elderly parents, workforce productivity and employee retention rates can suffer.

One potential solution is for companies to provide employees with eldercare benefits. "Employers who show sensitivity to employees' eldercare issues and provide whatever assistance they can may benefit in terms of increased worker loyalty, employee retention and boosted morale," said Steve Rhatigan, president of Stemark Associates, a Houston-based consulting firm.

Although the number of companies offering their employees eldercare benefits is still relatively small, it is a trend that is likely to grow. According to a survey by Johnson & Johnson, 71 percent of employees using such benefits and 58 percent of employees not currently using them but entitled to them rated the benefits as very important in their decision to stay in their current jobs.

As more companies start to see the value of offering eldercare benefits as a competitive tool to attract and retain employees, established franchise companies providing senior care and services will have a leg up on the competition.