The Wealth of Boomers & Gen X - September 26, 2025

There seems to be a lot of angst directed towards members of the Boomer and Gen X age cohort about the amount of wealth they’ve accumulated.  This anger is either coming from people who are also from those same age cohort and don’t have a lot of money saved up as they approach their golden years, or the angst is coming from Millennials or Gen Z who don’t believe they’ll achieve the same level of wealth as these older cohorts. It’s been said for some time that these younger generations will be the first that do not surpass their parents in net worth.  That may be true for these younger cohorts as a whole, but the Gen Z I know are already surpassing their parents in terms of comparative net worth at this younger age - they have more money than their parents did at the same age.  

So, if a Boomer or Gen X are complaining about the wealth of their peers, they only have themselves to blame.  They didn’t place enough importance on education and the doors it can open, or they spent way more than they made and didn’t properly plan for retirement.  In these cases the complainer need only look in the mirror to understand why they are not  as financially secure as their peers.  

However, if you’re a Millennial or a Gen Z and feel like you’re never going to get to the same level as your parents, there are some explanations for this, but that doesn’t give the younger generations an excuse to give up, or ask for handouts or a free-ride.  

Several factors contribute to why life is harder for the younger generation:

• They struggle to enter the housing market, as home values have risen significantly while wages have not kept pace, making it difficult to enter or advance in the home ownership game. For example: 

  • In Canada one source noted a 164% surge in inflation-adjusted (real) home prices in Canada between 1981 and 2024.

  • In the United States the median home price rose from around $130,000 in 1995 to $420,800 in 2024, more than tripling in that period.

• Compare this with the increase in wages during the same time period:

• Real hourly wages for full-time workers in Canada rose by approximately 24% from May 1981 to May 2024, with the most significant growth occurring after 2003. The wage increase as a whole noted here pales in comparison to the increase in housing costs…and the fact that most of this wage increase occurred after 2003 is particularly punishing to millennials. 

•  Real wages in the United States have risen significantly less than productivity, with some data showing real hourly wages for typical workers up around 9% between 1973 and 2013, while productivity grew much faster. More recent data shows modest gains for some wage groups, with upper-middle-wage earners seeing around a 23% increase and middle-wage earners around 17% between 1979 and 2023, after adjusting for inflation. Overall, wage growth has not kept up with productivity for most of the past generation.  

• And, finally let’s look at the cost of an education:

• Canadian undergraduate tuition fees have risen significantly in the past 30 years, with reports from different periods indicating an approximate tripling of costs since the 1990s. For example, in the 1990-91 academic year, the average tuition and compulsory fees were $1,464, rising to $6,348 by 2012-13, and reaching $7,437 in 2016-17, according to UFCW Canada and CBC News. 

• In the 30 years between the late 1980s and the late 2010s, average tuition costs in the United States rose by approximately 213% for public four-year institutions and 129% for private non-profit four-year institutions, using 2017 dollars for comparison.

It is fair for Millennials to say the cost of getting an education and buying a home is harder than it was for their Boomer and Gen X parents.  Many among the younger age cohorts also complain about being saddled with student debt, because the cost of a post-secondary education has become much more expensive than what their parents paid. Servicing student debt has impeded their ability to save for retirement or for a down-payment on a first home.   

When you look at all these barriers it’s easy to understand why millennials feel overwhelmed and don’t believe they’ll achieve the same financial independence their parents have.  But the Gen Z cohort doesn’t have much to complain about. They have 15 years more time than millennials, to get their financial house in order.  They’ve seen better wage increases than the millennial age cohort; they were too young to be directly impacted by the 2008 global economic meltdown and were still in school when the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic hit, whereas Boomers, Gen X and Millennials were all in the work force when these economic crises were in effect.    

Baby Boomers did accumulate vast wealth during a post-World War II economic boom, experiencing decades of low-cost housing, rising stock markets, and stable job markets. They also benefited from the long period of economic stability and prosperity that allowed for significant asset appreciation. 

A December 2024 study reveals that Gen Z respondents, on average, believe an annual salary of $587,797 and a net worth of $9.47 million are necessary to achieve "financial success" . What!?  I’m glad the Gen Z cohorts have set their sights very high in terms of what they feel they need for financial stability. 

How Do The Savings Stack Up By Age Group

In the United States:

• Recent statistics from sources like Empower and Yahoo Finance indicate the average age of a millionaire in the United States is 61. The average age of a millionaire has risen from 57 in 1992, suggesting that younger generations are finding it harder to accumulate wealth. 

• The ranks of 401(k) millionaires reached an all-time high of 595,000 individuals in the second quarter of 2025, according to Fidelity. The median balance among the millionaires was $1.4 million. Fidelity said this group of investors had been saving for an average of 25 years — having weathered market ups and downs from the dot-com crash, to the 2008 financial crisis, to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• A 2024 Newsweek survey found that millennials (aged 28-43) had an average of $110,556 in savings, but nearly 18% have no savings. 

• Gen Z's average savings vary, with Self's 2024 data showing an average of $2,411 in total savings, while Fidelity's Q1 2024 data indicated an average of $11,300 in 401(k) retirement accounts.

In Canada:

• A 2024 Financial Post article highlighted that households aged 55-64 had the highest net worth, with the average age of a Canadian millionaire being 62 years of age.  

• Real estate holds a significant portion of wealth, with Generation X Canadian households having an average of $666,146 in real estate wealth. 

• The average RRSP balance in Canada was approximately $113,070 in 2023, but this figure varies significantly by age group, with older Canadians having much larger balances due to longer contribution periods. For example, individuals under 35 had an average of roughly $57,500 in their RRSPs in 2023, while a median of $15,000 for the same age group suggests that many savers have significantly less. 

  • Under 35: Around $57,500, but with a median of about $15,000.

  • 35 to 44: Approximately $88,600.

  • 45 to 54: Around $150,300 or a median of $72,600.

  • 55 to 64: A median of $120,000.

  • 65 and older: Around $129,000.

• Generation X leads the nation in saving money, with an annual average savings potential of $27,200.

• A 2023 Leger survey found that 51% of Gen Z and millennials in Canada live paycheque to paycheque. 

Full disclosure - I am part of the Gen X cohort, and I am fortunate to have a healthy nest egg of savings.  I survived the 2000 dot.com meltdown in the technology sector; I survived the 2008 economic crisis; and I survived the 2020-21 Covid-19 pandemic.  Every generation has macro-level setbacks they must overcome.  My generation survived three Black Swan events, as did the Boomers. Don’t begrudge another generation's success; it only smells of envy when you do that.