6.6 percent of Americans over 55 have NO FAMILY to care for them as they age

This definition of "kinless" is often used by researchers because spouses and children are the relatives most apt to serve as caregivers, but even using a narrower definition of the term, about one percent have no spouse, children, OR biological siblings.

One percent may not sound like a lot, but it's almost one million Americans with no immediate biological family. That figure rises to 3 percent among women over 75 who have nobody to care for them.

"We assume that everyone has at least some family, but that's not the case anymore," said Rachel Margolis, one of the authors of the study.

This number is set to increase, as later generations have higher divorce rates, or chose to not marry at all, and have higher instances of childlessness. On top of that, advances in medicine are enabling us to live longer than the generation before us, meaning more years without surviving family.

"All the pathways to singlehood have grown," said Dr. Deborah Carr, a sociologist and researcher at Boston University.

While older seniors are increasingly finding alternatives to marriage, such as cohabitation, it is much less likely that they'll receive the same level of care as someone with kin.

Among college-educated seniors, a gender divide appears: college-educated women are more likely to be without family, but the opposite goes for college-educated men, who are more likely to have family to look after them, an indication that more women are unable to fully do both, are choosing a higher education over marriage and children.

In addition, black and poor women are at an even higher risk of being kinless.

The number of aging Americans with no family is predicted to keep increasing, as fewer people are marrying and having children and having fewer children at that.

We have a system of elder caring that has functioned on the "backs of spouses and, secondarily, adult children," sociologist Susan Brown said.

Both Brown and Carr believe that policymakers aren't adapting quickly enough to the new reality, potentially leaving more people increasingly alone.

"How will they navigate health declines?" Brown asks. "We don’t have a good answer. I’m not sure people are paying attention."