Census Bureau information is a great, free tool for any financial professional with an interest in marketing, or shaping public policy. Here's what key indicators look like when you break the numbers down by U.S. House of Representatives district -- specifically by people close to retirement age. The Americans who are now ages 55 to 64 will flow past the normal Social Security retirement age (which is now a moving target) by, roughly, 2030. This is those "near retirees'" last best chance to buy products that can guarantee them access to a lifetime income. It might be their last chance to buy stand-alone long-term care insurance, if they can find it and qualify for it. But the country's priority is still mostly on short-term efforts to make the economy look good today, not on promoting the purchase of annuities, or maxing out on retirement plan contributions. Some of the near retirees are trying not think about the gap between what they need and what they have. But some are thinking about that gap. In theory, their voice in Congress could be the representatives who serve the districts with the highest percentage of near-retiree residents. An analysis of the latest American Community Survey comparative demographic estimates data, from 2016, shows that the median percentage of near-retirees in the population is 13%. The range was 8.6%, in a district in Texas, to 16.4%, in one district in Michigan where age 65 may be coming faster than some residents might like. For a look at the five districts where near-retirees could be a political force to be reckoned with, see the slideshow above. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article put the 1st District of Michigan in the wrong position. Michigan's 1st District leads the nation in terms of the near-retiree population.   READ MORE at BenefitsPRO: |

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Allison Bell

Allison Bell, a senior reporter at ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, previously was an associate editor at National Underwriter Life & Health. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She can be reached through X at @Think_Allison.