The economic climate of the past few years has been tough on everyone, but not everyone is coming out of the recent recession on equal footing. A study done by the market research firm Mintel shows that for those ages 45-54 (younger baby boomers and older Gen Xers) the recovery will definitely take longer.
A full 39 percent, the highest in any age group, say they worry more about retirement now than ever before. Also, 47 percent of that group (vs. 33 percent overall) say they "have only been spending money on necessities" for at least a year. And then there's the 51 percent of this age demographic (compared to 44 percent overall), who say they intend to permanently decrease the amount of unnecessary "stuff" they will buy in the future.
"This last recession has definitely not treated everyone equally," states Susan Menke, vice president and behavioral economist at Mintel. "One reason could be that the younger boomers are the age group that was just getting started when the severe double dip recessions of the 1980s hit, and they have never fully recovered. Another reason may be that this is the 'sandwich' generation, burdened with educational expenses for their kids and, for some, health care costs for aging parents."
People who fall into this age group are too young to take early retirement, and too old to be able to make up for their savings losses by the time they reach normal retirement age. It's a sad fact that some may not ever fully recover.
Menke adds, "We continue to see numbers indicating that the recession was a wake-up call across age groups, just in different ways. Everyone is more concerned about having adequate funds to retire after this recession. Unlike the baby boomers, however, younger age groups are able to do something about it."
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