Baby Boomer wealth a myth?
Posted On March 20, 2014
Not exactly. But while much is written about the high concentration of affluence in the Boomer ranks, and the speculation that Gen Xers will be the first generation not expected to surpass their parents in terms of financial success, a Bloomberg Businessweek feature tells the story of wealth disparity between a Boomer worker and her Mature father.
It might be easy to blame this on the recent recession, as so many Boomers lost significant value in investments or found themselves unemployed at a point in their careers where they expected relative stability. Yet, the underlying issues may be more about generational norms than the nation’s economy or state of the global markets. During the course of the Boomer career, the fundamental structure of work changed. Boomers saw the disappearance of the golden watch retirement and the scaling back and near extinction of employee pension plans. Retirement planning became self-guided and self-funded. Career paths became mercurial (though this was certainly just the beginning). They also pioneered the idea of work hard, play hard – spending significantly more on entertainment than previous generations (at all income levels).
You can’t take it with you, right? If the woman profiled in this article is any indication, these choices may be catching up with some Boomers who will not have the financial footing to expect an old age of leisure and travel. Yet their parents, who likely never made a fraction of the salary they’ve come to expect, had the savings discipline borne out of the great depression (even if passed on by their own parents) and the societal infrastructure to support a strong and adventurous retirement, if they wish.