Demographic US chart

The reassuring picture painted for the US from the chart above contrasts sharply  where it looked as if the US demographic situation.
And although the working age population continues to rise throughout the forecast period, the number of retirees rises even faster.
Although GDP growth may be more closely related to the absolute growth of the working population, asset price inflation may be more closely related to the proportion of workers in the general population.
If that is the case, as the former baby-boomers start to retire this burgeoning cohort will tend to liquidate assets. This only exacerbates the secular bear market for property prices (which have already begun to decline again) as well as the equity market . This means that Bernanke for all his efforts may not be able to prevent the secular valuation bear market fully playing out until rock bottom valuations are reached.