The New American Vanguard: Latinos 50+: Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, a study published by Nielsen, indicated Latinos over the age of 50 are "exerting cultural, economic and political influence on the evolving U.S. mainstream."

While Millennials are frequently identified as being masters of influence, Latinos over the age of 50 are quite persuasive. Latinos over the age of 50 represent 10 percent of their age cohort, and that's expected to grow to 24 percent by 2060. The Nielsen report published Oct. 13 explores the consumption habits of older Latinos who've redefined retirement by living and working longer.

Latinos over the age of 50 are largely responsible for overall Latino population growth, power and influence. With a life expectancy of 83.5 years (compared to 78.7 for non-Latino whites), Latinos live longer and they often sway social trends. Additionally, the annual income within these households have improved at a rate that's faster than their younger counterparts. Between 2005 and 2013, Hispanic households headed by someone between age 50 and 69 making $100,000+ annually increased from 14 percent to 20 percent. Due to budding wealth, Latinos over the age of 50 have prolonged shopping decisions and purchasing influence within multigenerational households.

"America is growing more and more diverse with younger generations commanding the attention, but in order to understand the Hispanic Millennial cultural influence, it's vital for marketers to understand the generation that precedes them," Mónica Gil, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Multicultural Growth and Strategy, Nielsen, said in a press release. "This report provides insights into one of the most influential multicultural consumer segments in the U.S. mainstream."

According to the report authors, Latinos aren't aging out, instead they are aging up "with an influence that extends to multiple generations." Latino elders laid the groundwork for the booming economic power that Latinos are now recognized for. However, older Latinos maintain control in areas outside of wealth and economics; they also have political clout and will be the decisive swing vote in state and local elections. These voters are interested in the education, employment, the economy, and healthcare. Also, 73 percent consider immigration to be very or extremely important. California, Texas, Florida and New York are the states have the highest concentration of older Latinos, and those states have 55, 38, 29 and 29 electoral votes respectively.

Multigenerational homes benefit older Latinos for numerous reasons, including the fact that communal living affords opportunities for children care, transportation, shopping and cooking. The unique buying behavior within communal arrangements translates to greater disposable income. Latinos between ages 50 and 60, who tend to live in multigenerational homes, saw a sharp increase in annual pay from 2000 to 2013, and they tend to lead shopping habits and purchasing across a wide spectrum of services and products. Also, older Latinos tend to shop more frequently, over-indexing in health and beauty aids, general merchandise, non-food grocery, packaged meat, dry grocery, fresh produce and alcoholic beverages.

Boomers are also brand loyal consumers who are more likely to cook at home than younger Hispanic adults. Also, they tend to watch twice the amount of traditional television, they're interested in watching live TV on their phones, and they've chosen app is Facebook, much like younger Latinos. Additionally, the report showed Latinos experience lower mortality rates in 7 out of the 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. After immigrating to the U.S., Hispanics tend to have lower smoking rates, better diets and better general health in the first few years.

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