Generational wealth differences

[KeenGreen]

My first AIBU so let’s see what I’m in for!

First to make clear none of the problems now are the fault of previous generations. It is not a blame game!!

So AIBU to be frustrated with the rhetoric that todays generations of young families have it no harder than previous generations in terms of wealth and they just need to be more frugal to have the same standard of living??

I am sick of hearing the idea that older generations. So called boomers (for the record I don’t like this term) didn’t have it easier than younger generations.

I am 38 I have worked since I was 16, lived independently since 17. Put myself through university all the way through to PhD. My husband is 39 works in a school as support staff (LSA) and takes up circa £1200 a month. He has a degree.
I work in a university and earn just under £50K before tax so our household income is probably about £65K not the lowest by any stretch but enough for us to struggle to balance costs. We claim child benefit but otherwise no extra help.
Husband only works term time of course, but that means he’s around for our child during holidays.

We have one DC age 5, and can’t afford any more.
Our closest family lives over 2 hours away, so we have no family support with childcare or help if there is a sick day or anything.

We have a mortgaged small semi detached 1930s house with 3 bedrooms, It needs a lot of work but we haven’t been able to do much because of time and money. Current mortgage fix ends in 2026 and I expect our mortgage repayments to go up by about 50% extra £300 a month.

We pay off student loans and my pension contributions are also high.
I took only 6 months maternity leave because I couldn’t afford to go to half pay for long and not into no pay at all.

My husband had virtually nothing in his workplace pension because of low earnings.
Mine is keep being devalued because of sector changes and it’s definitely not the best pension in education. (Teachers pensions are better).
I can’t even imagine what it will be like to try and live off my workplace pension alone and I would have to go all the way up to retirement age which I can’t imagine myself doing in a stressful job.

Retirement age for us is currently 68, that means we have 30 more years.
But with the way things are going I have no hope that there will be a state pension at all for us, or the age will be pushed even higher, so will probably be dead! Despite the fact I will have been paying in with tax national insurance for 50 plus years by that point.

I just feel frustrated about this idea that I hear people say that our generation just needs to work harder, or get better paid jobs etc because it’s not that easy. We both work hard in the education sector. Enjoy our jobs for the most part and find them fulfilling albeit stressful at times!

Like I said not about blaming previous generations for the picture we are in, but I don’t like the rhetoric of ‘well interest rates went up to 15% in my day’ etc when house prices were so much lower in proportion to wages and the cost of living right now and inflation over the last 10 years shows wages haven’t increased in line with this.

ps I know we are not the most hard done by! But still feel the pinch and we certain don’t live an extravagant lifestyle!

It's a shame that these posts start out with interesting observations and understanding on both sides then descend into aggressive posts denigrating "boomers" as though everyone over a certain age is a child-hating money-hoarder and those who reciprocate with opinions like Monty Pythons four Yorkshiremen.
Every generation faces different challenges and life would be better if we could help and support each other rather than hurling resentful insults

The majority of other working parents, are fully aware of the costs, thank you

Hi @KeenGreen

As the children get older your husband can take a substantive post with more earnings.

It will get better.
Also you have your health.
Health is wealth.

Thank you yes exactly 😊

Tell me you're a Tory without telling me you're Tory 😆

OK BOOMER 😂😂😂

Oh, to be fair he would, IF he were complaining that they were struggling financially.

There used to be but sadly a lot of these employment based options have dried up locally.

we have an aging population who are a massive burden. They need to acknowledge this and pass some of their wealth on.

What would you wish for? Should we all sling a noose over the stairwell so you can inherit our property and pension fund before April 2027.

I am ageing. I am 68. And I am as fit, or fitter than 2/3rds of the people I see who are ten and twenty years younger than me. My child is 25, and on family medical history, I should make somewhere between 85 and 95, fingers crossed, without needing residential care. Knowing this, we have saved assiduously to create an ongoing pension income and a fund of saved money, and we have paid higher rates of tax for the last 30 years. Now I get state pension, but I expect to pay care home fees in full if necessary. My DMIL burnt through £250k of her house's value in care home fees in three years.

Actually I'm not tearing you down - just trying to get the facts. 1650 worked hours per annum, and a 150 hour research allocation for an active researcher, who makes the cut for the REF, and just 30 days of annual leave are disgraceful and are way off benchmark even for a post 92.

Your terms and conditions are borderline exploitative. I bet you are facing ludicrous staff/student ratios as well.

What you have described is not on.

But your comments are ‘the boomers hate their kids’ rather than imo it seems that some boomers..
clearly your experience has coloured your view but it’s preposterous to state that boomers hate their kids.
FWIW I am Gen X

I genuinely don’t think they would having seen what my parents went through and how tough they had it.

now mortgages might take longer to pay off- yes i agree on that. It will affect retirement but mortgages took up a huge proportion of income in the 1980’s as it does today. Holidays were much more expensive so most didn’t go away at all. Utilities cheaper but white goods much much more expensive. We don’t have a dishwasher until I was about 17! They couldn’t justify it. Cars were often kept for much longer than they are these days.

the boomer generation are seen to have had it easier as they are richer now. But the money has come from asset increases and not income. In the 1980s and 1990s they were struggling as the generation today are. Maybe some different struggles but still it was difficult.

God you all so worried about your "properties" Sorry you didn't get an inheritance from your MIL.🙄
Maybe if we had a fairer society where we had social care for all as well as affordable housing , no one needs to be so salty about their precious houses!

Easier than
I work NMW

Easier than
I'm jealous of my friends

Easier than
I'm in debt, I fucked up or someone financially abused me.

Easier than I'm traumatised and can't work

Easier than many of the reasons someone is struggling either through poor choices or dreadful circumstances
It's easier to blame Boomers

Some pundits say that Gen X are poised to be the wealthiest generation yet because of all wealth in property that will pass to them from their parents/grandparents in the next 10 years or so.

Some of them do, some are planning to and a couple definitely don't want children.

Those born in the 1940s and 50s were a genuinely weird generation - the century started out with two world wars, there was a huge shift in social norms, a fall in the population generally and a lack of young men. Their lives reflected this strange situation. Looking back at them and comparing just makes no sense in my view, it's pointless and fruitless. We live in a different generation, a different world and our circumstances just aren't the same. Rather than getting worked up about it, shouldn't we try to be grownups and make the best of what we have??

Incidentally your son will have an even stranger world because by the time he's 30ish there will be a serious lack of younger people. Countries with a huge age imbalance will fight for young people and offer incentives to attract them, which will mean he will probably have his pick of countries and quite a lot of opportunities offered to him, if he plays his cards right. You may resent that too - I hope not!

Given the sacrifices your family has made and the opportunities your husband has had to do well in his profession, you have a peculiar way of measuring society by economic input only. You seem to have a real chip on your shoulder.

Further, how can you or anybody measure pound for pound what they have put in compared to what they got out. Society is fungible and indefinite. Your claim that you owe society nothing is baseless. The evidence for this is that we have an electorate and parliament that says you do. Its on the statute book and if parliament raises taxes by another 1% tomorrow it is your duty to pay it, whether it is moral or not.

When having your supper this evening reflect on the fact that your food, without agricultural subsidy and societal cohesion, might be too expensive for you to afford.

Yes absolutely. NOT GOOD!!

Work and graft don't pay, inheritance determines your life chances.

Then you are all bleating about why don't young people work hard...
BECAUSE IT DOESN'T PAY

Your husband has a degree but has chosen to do a job which needs a much lesser level of education. That is his choice. As a boomer I begrudge being told how lucky we are. We have worked bloody hard and made sacrifices to be this 'lucky'.

Ok fair enough, that’s how it came across. Easy to misinterpret I guess.

Our SSRs are in line with post 92s I believe about 1:20/25 course depending. I think my course area is probably a little under this now.
Though with student numbers falling this is being used as a criteria for us to not recruit replacement staff when people leave. So I expect these will creep back up to 1:25

I think that’s probably true. Gen X were able to buy homes when they were affordable on ‘normal ‘ salaries and many now benefit from large inheritances due to their parents’ homes having dramatically increased in value.

God you all so worried about your "properties" Sorry you didn't get an inheritance from your MIL.🙄
Maybe if we had a fairer society where we had social care for all as well as affordable housing , no one needs to be so salty about their precious houses!
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Quite apart from barely being literate, I presume you equate fairness with receiving benefits from tax payers. In brief, we don't, and we did inherit from DMIL (not a lot, and it has been passed down a generation) but we have always paid for the roof over our heads rather than requiring social housing subsidised from the public/tax payer.

Oh dear, something else DH and I are doing wrong!

Car and driving lessons ☑️
University ☑️
Wedding contribution ☑️
Major help with first and second home purchases ☑️
Help monthly with nursery fees ☑️

We're clearly pretty crapola at this child hating.

Mea culpa @BeGoldHedgehog

1. I have never suggested I should not pay taxes legally due and fully appreciated the constitution and Parliament but thank you for pointing I put.

1. Life and society is about inputs and outputs, as are most companies. It's pretty basic.

1. I shall not be reflecting about agriculture when I have my supper this evening because I come from a farming background and appreciate it very well. Also if you wish to tell me to do something, as a corporate leader, it's a pity you haven't learnt the word "please".