trends
Here Comes Gen X
The newest 55-plussers: How will the next generation change the demographic’s approach to finances? By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
W
hile the baby boomers and millennials have been duking it out on social media as to who ruined what, the generation in between, Generation X, has been quietly growing older. Depending on the generational cut-off, the oldest Gen-Xers are between 55 and 57. How will the next generation of 55-plussers change the demographic’s approach to finances? Their tech savviness will make a big difference. “This population is the first generation to grow up in the personal 36
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computer era,” said Phil Provenzano, insurance agent and financial adviser at The Financial Guys Insurance Agency in Rochester. “I say that first because this population is one that has had the benefit of technology to help with retirement, savings and finances in general, amongst other things.” He doesn’t mean that Gen X necessarily handles its money better, but that this generation has different tools and resources to build wealth from previous generations. The thrifty baby boomers — brought up hearing about the Great Depression from their parents or grandparents — have prized
thrift and eschewed debt. Growing up in the glitz of the 1970s and ‘80s may have skewed Gen X in a different direction, with less emphasis on saving and investing. “The Gen X population is vastly different in their approach and view of finances and retirement,” Provenzano said. Gen X has become a “sandwich generation,” caring for their own children while helping their aging parents. This puts additional financial strain on a generation that likely has not been as frugal as baby boomers. There’s also the “drastic increase in the costs of education for their children, increased cost of healthcare and insanely high inflation,” Provenzano said. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics states that prices for college tuition and fees are 1,461.32% higher in 2022 versus 1977. The bureau also states that the prices for medical care services have grown by 7,123.08% from 1935 to 2022. The buying power of a dollar is only 18.127% of what it was in 1975. To make times even tougher, Gen X faces