A study from the Colorado Futures Center at Colorado State University in Fort Collins has some words of caution for state lawmakers and other policy makers: it will cost more as the state’s population ages, and they won’t generate as much tax revenue to help you pay for the services they’ll need.

The report, prepared for the Strategic Action Planning Group on Aging, comes as Colorado’s 65-and-over population grew 29 percent between 2010-15, the third fastest rate in the nation. And that same age group is projected to rise by more than 508,000, an increase of 68 percent, by 2030.

According to The Bell Policy Center, most of the immediate increased costs will be due to “significant growth in age-based Medicaid expenditures – from $1.04 billion in FY 15-16 to just over $2.325 billion in FY 29-30, an increase of more than 100 percent. It will directly impact the General Fund.”

At the same time, the report notes that “Households headed by persons 65 and over spend less absolutely, and in particular, less on Colorado sales-taxable items than the 25 to 64 cohorts.”

As The Bell Policy Center noted, “(The report) did not make any formal recommendations to SAPGA. However, in a December 2016 presentation of the findings, (the center) commended the group’s recommendation that the state create a formal, inter-state department focus on aging.”