Given economic growth I’d expect current 20 year olds to on average be richer than current 80 year olds by the time they are 80. If that doesn’t happen, something has probably gone wrong, unless it’s because of something like “more people are living to 80 by spending money on healthcare during their 50′s/60′s/70s”.
Albeit with wilder swings, current 80 year olds in the US lived and worked through some of the years of highest GDP growth ever. That’s not necessarily reproducible. In addition, one’s net worth isn’t just a linear function of the integral of the GDP throughout their life. For example, being able to buy a house early is a big boost because now you have capital that appreciates, possibly faster than the interests on your debt accrue. Meanwhile if you have to rent, your money disappears down a black hole. Guess what’s a big difference between Boomers and Gen Z.
Given economic growth I’d expect current 20 year olds to on average be richer than current 80 year olds by the time they are 80. If that doesn’t happen, something has probably gone wrong, unless it’s because of something like “more people are living to 80 by spending money on healthcare during their 50′s/60′s/70s”.
Albeit with wilder swings, current 80 year olds in the US lived and worked through some of the years of highest GDP growth ever. That’s not necessarily reproducible. In addition, one’s net worth isn’t just a linear function of the integral of the GDP throughout their life. For example, being able to buy a house early is a big boost because now you have capital that appreciates, possibly faster than the interests on your debt accrue. Meanwhile if you have to rent, your money disappears down a black hole. Guess what’s a big difference between Boomers and Gen Z.