Ad Feedback
Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN
6 minute read
Updated 7:17 AM EDT, Tue October 1, 2024
Former President Jimmy Carter teaches a Sunday school class at the Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, on August 23, 2015.
A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for freehere.
CNN —
Jimmy Carter sets a new record on October 1, his birthday, when he will become the first American president to reach triple digits.
It’s a milestone more and more Americans will reach in the years to come – and something the American social safety net is not prepared for.
Carter’s post-presidency began in 1981 after he lost his bid for reelection and when he was 56, too young for Social Security and Medicare.
A very long, incredible retirement
Carter did not dedicate his post-presidential life to sitting on corporate boards and raking in speaking fees, as other recent presidents have done.
Carter got his hands dirty building houses, took on peace missions to Cuba and the Middle East, negotiated the release of hostages, lived in his home town, taught Sunday school and college classes, wrote books, and won Grammys.
His has been, indisputably, the longest, most righteous and most productive post-presidency in history, although John Quincy Adams’ post-presidential, anti-slavery efforts in Congress get honorable mention.
In the nearly 44 years since he left office, Carter helped essentially eradicate Guinea worm, a parasite that infected around 3.5 million people in the mid-’80s and just 14 in 2023, according to The Carter Center.
It’s been 22 years since he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, just as the US was preparing for war in Iraq. Carter also paid a landmark visit to Cuba that year.
It’s been nine years since Carter announced at a news conference that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer and might not have long to live.
CNN’s Stephen Collinson wrote at the time:
“I have had a wonderful life,” Carter said with the same unsparing honesty and meticulous detail that marked his presidency. “I’m ready for anything and I’m looking forward to new adventure,” Carter said, in the 40-minute appearance before the cameras, in which he frequently beamed his huge smile and never fell prey to emotion. “It is in the hands of God, whom I worship.”
Carter had more to do
By December 2015, Carter announced that after treatment, the cancer was gone. A timeline of his life maintained by CNN’s research library has many more notable entries.
It’s been nine years since Carter published an autobiography, “A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety.” He won a Grammy Award – his second – for the audiobook. He would win a third a few years later.
It’s been seven years since he was hospitalized for dehydration in Winnipeg, Canada, where he was outdoors – still working! – for Habitat for Humanity, the organization with which he had a long association.
It’s been five years since 2019, when he won that third Grammy, broke his hip and joked that there should be an age limit on the presidency since he couldn’t have done the job at 80. That was also the year he turned 95 and became the longest-living American president, surpassing George H.W. Bush.
It’s been nearly two years since Carter entered hospice care and nearly one year since his wife, Rosalynn, died. They were married in 1946.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, speaks in Elk City, Oklahoma, in 1979.
Carter is held by his mother, Lillian, when he was just a month old. Carter was born October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. He was the first US president to be born in a hospital.
Carter, 6, poses with his sister Gloria in 1931.
Carter graduated from the US Naval Academy on June 5, 1946, after completing the accelerated wartime program.
Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, are seen on their wedding day in July 1946.
The Carters share a light moment at his campaign headquarters in Atlanta in 1966. Jimmy, a Georgia state senator at the time, ran for governor but lost in the Democratic primary.
Carter is applauded at his Atlanta headquarters in 1970. He was running for governor again — and this time he won.
Carter shovels peanuts in the '70s. Carter was the son of a peanut farmer, and he took over the family business in 1953 before his political career took off.
Carter gets a haircut during his first year as governor of Georgia. He was inaugurated on January 12, 1971.
Carter holds his 7-year-old daughter, Amy, in 1974, just after he officially announced that he would be running for president.
After becoming the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 1976, Carter raises hands with running mate Walter Mondale at the Democratic National Convention in New York. Standing to Carter's right is his wife, Rosalynn, and their daughter, Amy. Carter ran as a Washington outsider and someone who promised to shake up government.
Carter and US President Gerald Ford debate domestic policy at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia in September 1976. It was the first of three Ford-Carter presidential debates.
Carter embraces his wife after receiving news of his election victory on November 2, 1976. Carter received 297 electoral votes, while Ford received 241.
Chief Justice Warren Burger swears Carter into office on January 20, 1977, while Rosalynn Carter looks on.
Carter, second from left, and his brother Billy, left, visit Georgia's St. Simons Island in 1977.
Carter is applauded by members of Congress after he signed a bill creating the Department of Energy in August 1977.
Carter meets with civic leaders from Georgia and Florida to explain his new Panama Canal treaty in August 1977.
Carter delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in January 1978. "Government cannot solve our problems," he said. Anti-government sentiment at the time was brought on by economic pessimism along with the end of the Vietnam War and the unraveling of the Watergate saga.
Carter and West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt are all smiles as they prepare to depart Berlin in July 1978. Carter and Schmidt came to Berlin to see the Berlin Wall and the Airlift Memorial and hold a town meeting with citizens of Berlin.
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, right, listens to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 6, 1978, at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. With Carter's help, terms of a peace accord were negotiated at Camp David. A formal treaty was signed in Washington on March 26, 1979, ending 31 years of war between Egypt and Israel. It was one of the highlights of Carter's presidency.
Three days before his birthday in 1978, Carter blows out candles on a birthday cake presented to him at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee.
Carter jogs on the South Lawn of the White House in December 1978.
Carter visits the crippled Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania in April 1979.
Carter pauses to kiss his wife, Rosalynn, before boarding a helicopter at the White House in May 1979.
Carter walks with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev outside the US embassy in Vienna, Austria, in June 1979. They held private talks before heading to the Imperial Hofburg Palace to sign the SALT II nuclear treaty.
College student Chuck McManis watches Carter's nationally televised energy speech from a service station in Los Angeles in July 1979. In this speech, Carter described what he saw as a growing "crisis of confidence" in the country. An Arab oil embargo led to fuel shortages and sky-high prices throughout much of the 1970s. At times, Americans were waiting in line for hours to fill their gas tanks.
Outgoing President Carter, left, sits with President-elect Ronald Reagan en route to Reagan's inauguration in January 1981. Reagan had defeated Carter in a landslide.
Before departing for Georgia following Reagan's inauguration, Carter holds his crying daughter as his wife blows a kiss at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Carter gets a hug from his mother, Lillian, as he arrives home in Plains, Georgia, after Reagan's inauguration.
Carter traveled to Wiesbaden, West Germany, in January 1981 to greet the 52 American hostages who had been released by Iran after 444 days of captivity.
The Carters wear glittering garlands and a turban given to them by Pakistani tribesmen at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in November 1986. They also received a pair of rams.
Carter addresses a United Nations interfaith service at New York's Trinity Church in September 1991. His speech was entitled "The Present Role of the United Nations in a Changing World."
From left, former President George H.W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, Carter and Vice President Al Gore attend the Presidents' Summit for America's Future in Philadelphia in 1997. They helped clean up local neighborhoods as part of the effort to encourage volunteer service.
Clinton presented Carter with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, on August 9, 1999. Carter was recognized for his diplomatic achievements and humanitarian efforts.
Carter works at a construction site sponsored by the Jimmy Carter Work Project in Asan, South Korea, in 2001. The Carters have been involved with the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity since 1984.
Cuban President Fidel Castro calls for time as Carter prepares to throw the first pitch at a baseball game in Havana, Cuba, in May 2002. It was the first time a US president, past or present, had visited Cuba since the 1959 Cuban Revolution.
Students at the University of Havana listen to Carter outline his vision for improved relations between the United States and Cuba on May 14, 2002. The speech was broadcast live and uncensored on Cuban state television.
Carter is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, in December 2002. He was recognized for his many years of public service, and in his acceptance speech he urged others to work for peace.
Carter adjusts his headphones at a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela, in January 2003. He proposed a referendum on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's presidency or an amendment to the constitution as a way to end the political crisis in the South American nation.
Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean speaks beside Carter during a campaign stop in Plains, Georgia, in January 2004.
Rosalynn Carter smashes a bottle of champagne against the sail of the USS Jimmy Carter during the submarine's christening ceremony in Connecticut in June 2004.
The Carters wave to the audience at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004.
Carter checks his notes while observing a polling station in Maputo, Mozambique, in December 2004. Since 1989, the Carter Center has been observing elections around the world to determine their legitimacy. The nonprofit organization was founded by Carter and his wife to advance human rights across the globe.
Carter is interviewed at a Washington, DC, hotel room in 2006.
In February 2007, Carter speaks to children in Ghana on the seriousness of eradicating guinea worm disease.
The Carters arrive for President Barack Obama's inauguration in January 2009.
Carter meets with Obama and other former presidents at the White House in January 2009. From left are George H.W. Bush, Obama, George W. Bush, Clinton and Carter.
Carter testifies in May 2009 during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on energy independence and security.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya speaks in June 2009 during a joint news conference with Carter in Gaza. Carter denounced the deprivations facing Palestinians in Gaza as unique in history, asserting that they are being treated "like animals."
Carter delivers a speech in Seoul, South Korea, after receiving an honorary doctorate degree from Korea University in March 2010. During a four-day visit to South Korea, Carter urged direct talks with North Korea, saying a failure to negotiate nuclear disarmament might lead to a "catastrophic" war.
Carter greets South African leader Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg in May 2010.
Carter hugs Aijalon Mahli Gomes at Boston's Logan International Airport in August 2010. Carter negotiated Gomes' release after he was held in North Korea for crossing into the country illegally in January 2010.
Carter visits a weekly anti-settlement protest in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in October 2010. Former Irish President Mary Robinson is on the right.
Carter and other former presidents, including Clinton and both George Bushes, attend the Points of Light Institute Tribute to Former President George H.W. Bush in March 2011.
Cuban President Raul Castro greets Carter and his wife at the Revolution Palace in Havana in March 2011.
In April 2011, Carter addresses students at the Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Carter was interviewed for "The Presidents' Gatekeepers" project at the Carter Center in Atlanta in September 2011.
From left, President Obama, Carter, first lady Michelle Obama and Clinton wave from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 2013. It was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, which is best remembered for Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
Carter talks with reporters in Chicago at a signing for his book "A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power" in March 2014. In the book, Carter argues that the abuse and subjugation of women and girls is one of the biggest challenges the world faces.
Carter teaches Sunday School on Easter at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, in 2014. Carter taught Sunday School at the church several times a year.
Carter talks about his cancer diagnosis during a news conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta in August 2015. Carter announced that his cancer was on four small spots on his brain and that he would immediately begin radiation treatment. In December 2015, Carter announced that he was cancer-free.
Carter and his wife arrive for the inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2017.
Carter, center, speaks alongside other former US presidents as they attend a Hurricane Relief concert in College Station, Texas, in October 2017.
Carter holds up a copy of his new book "Faith: A Journey For All" at a book-signing event in New York in March 2018.
Carter walks with his wife, Rosalynn, and Secret Service members after having dinner at a friend's home in Plains, Georgia, in August 2018.
The Carters speak with Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn prior to an NFL game in September 2018.
Former US President George W. Bush greets Carter and other former presidents during the state funeral for his father in December 2018.
Carter fell and hit his head in early October 2019 while getting ready for church, requiring 14 stitches above his brow. But he didn't let that stop him from heading to Nashville, Tennessee, that afternoon for a week of building houses with Habitat for Humanity.
Carter teaches Sunday school at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, in November 2019.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden met with the Carters at the Carters' home in April 2021. The photo grabbed people's attention on social media because of what appeared to be a significant size difference between the two couples. While many experts theorized that it was the result of a wide-angle lens, Adam Schultz, the chief official White House photographer, declined to explain when reached by The New York Times.
The Carters celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary in Plains in July 2021. "The best thing I ever did was marrying Rosalynn," Carter once said.
The Carters appear at the Peanut Festival Parade in Plains in September 2023. It was the first time the former president had been seen in public since he began receiving hospice care at home in February.
Former President Jimmy Carter attends his wife's tribute service in November 2023. Carter, who is 99 and receiving hospice care at home, had been expected to attend. His grandson Jason Carter told CNN "we all know that he wouldn't miss it for the world."
Jimmy Carter's life in pictures
More people will turn 100
As remarkable as Carter made his years since American voters retired him from the White House, there’s also something increasingly normal about people living to 100.
Former presidents, all well-to-do and protected by a generous pension, aren’t a representative sample of society, but it’s notable that the four oldest former presidents – Carter, Bush, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan – all lived in the 21st century.
Overall, US life expectancy dropped during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, and it lags behind other developed countries, according to an analysis by KFF. As of 2022, the life expectancy for US males was 74.8 and for US females was 80.2.
But the population of 100-year-olds is expected to quadruple in the coming decades, according to Pew Research Center. It estimated in January that the current number of centenarians was around 101,000 and that the figure would increase to about 422,000 within 30 years, a small but growing portion of the US population as the average age increases and the birth rate declines.
CNN’s Eva Rothenberg wrote a year ago about the challenges many Americans will face later in life as they live longer, with more than half of older Americans likely needing long-term care in the future – something that many will not be able to afford and that is not covered under Medicare, the federal health insurance program that primarily benefits older Americans.
A major issue during Carter’s presidency and in 1980
Carter signed a law in 1977 that increased taxes to pay for Social Security and changed how benefits were calculated for younger people, which was supposed to help the program’s finances. Later, in 1980, Carter signed additional legislation to control the growth of disability benefits.
In the 1980 presidential election, which Carter ultimately lost to Reagan, the long-term viability of Social Security and Medicare was a major campaign issue and featured prominently in debates. And with good reason: The long-term viability of the social safety net programs, despite the law Carter signed in 1977, was still in serious question.
“There you go again,” Regan said dismissively to Carter in a presidential debate, denying that he opposed the very idea of Medicare. Reagan said he simply opposed the version that became law. Carter later accused Reagan of what we might today call “gaslighting” voters on the issue.
“Governor Reagan has a right to change his mind. He does not have a right to rewrite history,” Carter said in a statement days before Election Day that year.
Reagan, despite his previous opposition to safety net programs, vowed during the campaign to tend to their finances. Carter, on the other hand, was talking about creating a new national health insurance plan, which remains a dream for many Democrats.
More tough changes under Reagan
As president, after first unsuccessfully proposing benefit cuts, Reagan empaneled a commission, chaired by Alan Greenspan, that suggested fixes – some of which ultimately became law in 1983, and not a moment too soon. Social Security was months or weeks away from being able to pay full benefits in 1983, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The 1983 tweaks to Social Security included, for instance, the counting of some Social Security benefits as taxable income and a gradual increase of the retirement age from 65 to 67.
How gradual? The increase is still kicking in more than 40 years later. The 1983 amendments made the full retirement age 67 for people born in 1960 or later. So those seniors still have a few years to go, although people can retire early for a reduced benefit.
That 1983 law, passed near the beginning of Carter’s very early and long political retirement, was the last major structural change to address the solvency of Social Security. There have been more frequent tweaks and major changes to Medicare.
Now the social safety net programs are again teetering on insolvency. Social Security will be unable to pay full benefits in just over a decade, according to the government. Medicare has a smidge more time.
Today, there are new calls to incrementally raise the retirement age or increase the taxes that fund Social Security, which apply only to the first $168,600 of income.
Like in the 1970s and 1980s, changes to the safety net will require a serious debate on all sides of the issue. It’s a debate few people are having at the moment.
Neither presidential candidate this year is talking much about the long-term funding of these programs. In fact, one of Donald Trump’s major proposals is to end the taxation on Social Security benefits that Reagan and lawmakers imposed in 1983. Vice President Kamala Harris has a vague plan to impose new taxes on the wealthy.
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback
