More than a quarter of all American adults have reached traditional retirement age, according to the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau report released last week.

The number of U.S. residents 65 and older jumped 34 percent to 54 million last year from the 2010 Census report. This outpaced both the rate of growth in the working-age population as well as that of children.

“No other age group saw such a fast increase,” said Luke Rogers, chief of the Census Bureau’s population estimates branch.

The graying of America will likely place an additional burden on already-stressed federal, state and local governments. The share of U.S. debt is projected to increase from 79 percent of the prepandemic economy to 101 percent by the end of this year and 118 percent by 2030, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

State and local governments are bringing in less tax revenue thanks to widespread layoffs and business closures associated with COVID-19 containment efforts, which will make it difficult to balance their budgets.

“And this is going to cause higher taxes,” said University of Michigan economist Richard Curtin. “That represents a significant draw on consumers’ budgets.”

It will place a bigger burden on those who’ve left the workforce and are depending on Social Security and Medicare.

The aging population is pushing up the insolvency dates of the major trust funds that many seniors reply on.