Hey, Gen Z: back off ‘wealth-hoarding' Boomers
As I approach my 60th birthday, you might imagine that I write this from the balcony of my luxury cabin on board a cruise ship. Perhaps, having retired early, I've paid off the mortgage on my five-bedroomed house (and the holiday home in Norfolk!) and am enjoying my huge private salary pension to the full.
Not really.
Yes, in five months I'll be 60 – only narrowly missing out on the title of Boomer – but I'm writing this from the tatty sofa of my one-bedroomed flat whose mortgage is nowhere near being paid off. I can't see the day when I'll be able to afford to retire as I missed out on those big pensions, and I'm constantly scouring my inbox for restaurant offers that mean I can go somewhere nice for twenty quid.
So you'll understand why I get cross when I hear Millennials and Gen Z accusing older generations of hogging wealth and property while they're finding it hard to find a place in life. Many of us have more in common than you'd think. Even the government think so, with a report today from the Commons' Women and Equalities committee calling for action to tackle age discrimination, and they're right. It benefits nobody and is incredibly divisive.
Those sixty and seventysomethings who seem to be swishing around on constant holidays and wearing cashmere might be the most visible in the media – they're who advertisers are trying to separate from their spare cash. The rest of us: not so much. The 'Just About Managing' of any age don't have the spare cash for much, and aren't so attractive to advertising.
I know I'm fortunate in that I own a property, or at least the mortgage, but the number of older people in flatshares has been on the increase for a long time – particularly among single people. Circumstance and the general unaffordability of housing means that people of any age have to take what they can get. It's questionable why England doesn't have a commissioner for older people as other UK nations do. Not having one means stacking up trouble for the future.
I have a 70-something artist friend who can no longer afford her studio-cum-living space as the rent has become unaffordable. She often says that at least she has had that space and a career – something that is being denied to young creatives in London who can't get a break at all, due to so many spaces being swallowed up by developers for 'collections' of luxury flats. She's a great example of why older and younger people should come together rather than slagging each other off in the great wars of Avocado Toast vs Owning a House.
When I was a student, most of my tuition fees were paid by my local authority. I had housing benefits and could claim the dole in the summer holidays. I have spent a lot of my career scoffing free canapes and wine at fantastic parties and launches, and have met incredible people in the process. All this has been denied to younger generations, and I want them to have the financial and educational advantages I had, voting accordingly.
I also don't want them to have the financial and care worries that many of the Boomer generation currently have. Pensions are poor, and anyone who needs care has to fight hard for it. This is incredibly difficult if you don't have a family to argue your case. We all have age-appropriate needs. It's vital that we fight for each other, rather than just standing up for our own age group against everyone else.
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