The Gen X Factor
Generation X will do more to define the shape of the longevity economy than the Baby Boomers who have all those coveted cash reserves. Let’s explore why.
They’re the forgotten generation.
The middle children of history, wedged between the huge Baby Boomer and Millennial generations. They’ve been known as latchkey kids, slackers, and cynics.
And by they, I mean we. That’s because I’m a proud member of Generation X.
A cohort named for a book that was named after a band, Gen Xers were born between 1965 and 1980. We’re the smallest of the economically-active generations, which is the explanation most often given for why marketers and media ignore us.
But for such a small group, we’ve had a big impact. That’s because Generation X specializes in influence rather than recognition. From music and movies to technology, we’re the primary architects of the culture every generation currently resides in.
And now, Generation X will do more to define the shape of the longevity economy than the Baby Boomers who have all those coveted cash reserves. Let’s explore why.
It’s a Gen X World
We were the kids who lived through an incredible shift from “the way things were” to our current postmodern reality. In some cases, we made the changes happen; in others, we merely slogged our way through as best we could.
We were the first to play video games. We made “alternative” music mainstream and “indie” films popular. The last original form of musical expression — hip hop — happened on our watch and is now the most popular music in the world thanks to Gen X icons ranging from Jay-Z and the Beastie Boys to Missy Elliott, Tupac, and Eminem.
Our childhood obsessions are now the biggest entertainment franchises in the world. The entire arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (32 films so far and a slew of TV properties) has been orchestrated by Gen X producer Kevin Feige. He started by anchoring the shared universe with a redemptive role for one of Generation X’s finest actors and followed with a plethora of pop culture references (like this one) that are aimed way over the heads of the kids we share the theater with.
Meanwhile, Gen Xer J.J. Abrams concluded the Skywalker story that began in 1977, back when he was a mere lad. As with Marvel, these are “kid” stories that are in no way aimed exclusively at Padawans — they’re now baked into the broader culture itself.
Since Gen X began adulting, things have merely evolved more than they’ve truly changed. Our version of popular culture (both now and then) is also the culture of those who came after.
It’s one big melting pot of memes, 80s and 90s nostalgia, and obscure pop culture references as an art form. In other words, our version of the world is the world:
“Gen Xers laid the political, intellectual, social, creative and personal ground upon which the Millennials today walk, talk and text,” writes Christine Henseler, a professor at Union College in Schenectady, New York.
It’s not just Millennials.
As the father of two Gen Z kids, I see — for better or worse — that we’ve created the framework they inhabit. Nothing they’re down with shocks me, and I can explain (to glazed-over eye rolls) the influences that inform their obsessions.
In other words, there is no longer a generation gap. We’re the first group of parents who hate the new music our kids listen to not because it’s too loud, but because it’s derivative and doesn’t rock hard enough.
All of that is truly kid stuff compared with our influence on the technology that has reshaped the world. It remains to be seen what type of world we’ve created, but no one can say Gen X hasn’t had a remarkable impact.
We were originally labeled “slackers” due to our disinterest in mimicking the hypocrisy of the Baby Boomers, who went from Woodstock to Wall Street without a hint of irony. But once Cobain died and the commercial internet arrived, Generation X saw a chance to truly change the world.
Born in 1964, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos just missed the mark. But Generation X produced the founders of Netscape, Google, MySpace, PayPal, YouTube, eBay, Twitter, Dell Computer, and Tesla, just to name a few notable examples. And while Mark Zuckerberg is the poster child for the media fantasy of hoodie-wearing Millennial tech founders, it was Gen Xer Sheryl Sandberg who truly made things happen at Facebook.
Again, this is all for better or worse, depending on your perspective. The point is that just because Gen X doesn’t jump up and down for attention doesn’t mean we haven’t been making a substantial dent in the universe.
Spinning Up the Longevity Flywheel
When people think about the longevity economy, it’s almost always in the context of the Baby Boomer generation, named for the huge wave of births from 1946 to 1964. And that’s for good reason, as this group is already over half beyond age 65 and has significantly higher net worths compared to the generations that follow.
And yet, despite the small size of Generation X, we are projected to pass the Baby Boomers in population size by 2028 due to expected mortality. Two years later in 2030, the first Gen Xers will reach the traditional retirement age of 65 (which means every remaining Baby Boomer will then be over 65).
Up to that significant tipping point, Generation X will experience the highest increase in the share of wealth in the United States, growing from under 14% of total net wealth in 2015 to nearly 31% by 2030. Despite this, most Gen Xers simply do not have enough retirement savings.
A staggering 56% of Gen Xers said they have less than $100,000 saved for retirement, and 22% said they have yet to save a single cent.
While the desire to retire may be there, the money just isn’t. A whopping 64% of respondents said they stopped saving for retirement not because they don’t want to but because they simply can’t afford to.
This is not an indication that the “slacker” label was correct. Generation X is the hardest-working cohort and has substantial obligations to others:
“Many in this generation are simultaneously taking care of kids and aging parents. When so many people count on you, it’s easy to deprioritize yourself,” Christian Mitchell, chief customer officer at Northwestern Mutual, said. “But as their retirement age gets closer, pressure for Gen X builds.”
Add to that the prospect of living for decades past retirement age, and soon almost no one will be able to afford to just quit at 65. The combination of those two realities bites, and it’s why more people than ever are already working past retirement age. This trend will greatly accelerate by the time Generation X starts hitting the mark.
But as we’ve explored previously, we’re in the midst of a labor shortage that many consider perpetual from here on out. That’s because while older people are living longer, healthier lives, birth rates have concurrently plummeted well below even replacement rates.
All of this adds up to Generation X being the first generation to continue working past retirement age in substantial numbers, which should start the spin of the longevity economy flywheel. Now add in that Gen X may live longer than they currently think they will, and we’re truly the canaries in the longevity coal mine.
Gen Xers who are struggling with retirement savings will tell you they’re more afraid of running out of money in their later years than they are of death. For a generation characterized by individualism, independence, and self-sufficiency, this existential terror makes perfect sense.
And that’s why middle-aged people should watch advances in medical age reversal very carefully over the coming years. We may find ourselves in a truly ironic situation if Gen Xers who have enough money to retire at the conventional age end up being the ones in danger of outliving their money, thanks to longevity science.
Many Gen Xers are quite candid about not having enough saved to retire. Others will tell you they don’t want to retire, regardless. What if, in both cases, this turns out to be a good thing?
The Midlife Entrepreneur Wins in the Longevity Economy
In a 2007 article published in the Harvard Business Review, demographers Strauss & Howe wrote this about Generation X:
They are already the greatest entrepreneurial generation in U.S. history; their high-tech savvy and marketplace resilience have helped America prosper in the era of globalization.
Beyond the aforementioned high-profile examples, the true entrepreneurial workhorses of Generation X don’t get many headlines. More important for the longevity economy are the businesses that are being started now and into the near future by Gen Xers.
That’s because the average age of a successful startup founder is 45. And it doesn’t end there. The number of 50-plus entrepreneurs, new small business owners, solopreneurs, and the otherwise self-employed are growing at an accelerated rate:
According to figures compiled by the Kauffman Foundation, about one-quarter of new entrepreneurs were ages 55 to 64 compared to nearly 15% in 1996.
These are mostly self-funded solo or small businesses, not venture-backed unicorns. In other words, these businesses are more about changing the life of the founder than changing the world. And yet, within the context of the longevity economy, these entrepreneurs can, in fact, participate in a world-changing shift.
The underlying motivations vary, says author Kerry Hannon:
Some, admittedly, have been elbowed into opening a business after a corporate downsizing or an early retirement package. Others have been drawn into it by burnout or the desire to pursue a dream or return to a childhood passion.
And as discussed, many of these people simply don’t see retirement as viable, often for multiple reasons. The unretirement trend kicked off because retired Baby Boomers decided not working wasn’t all it was hyped to be. Now, the trend is trickling down to Generation X in the face of technological threats to traditional employment and an extended lifespan.
Gen Xers have a clear advantage over our younger peers — notably experience. This allows us to tap into our creativity and wisdom to solve problems for customers and clients. But more importantly, we’re leading the charge into the longevity economy as consumers as well and are perfectly positioned to understand the gaps in the marketplace, which are substantial.
As we’ve seen, people at middle age are most receptive to developing positive attitudes about aging, perhaps since they’re at a transition point that’s on the way to joining the group. And since those currently at middle age are the most likely to start successful businesses, it stands to reason that Gen Xers will be the most adept at the kind of empowerment marketing that will accelerate the economic activity of older people.
Whatever, Nevermind
Now, it’s time to return to the fundamental paradox of the longevity economy.
Although we're targeting people of a certain age when contemplating older consumers, age is not a viable way of segmenting those prospects. And there’s nothing more age-based than generational cohorts, which literally define a person by what year they were born.
If you try to speak to a Generation X audience as if they all wore flannel and fell apart on the day Kurt Cobain died, well, good luck. In fact, marketing to Gen Xers may well be the most challenging thing you do if not approached correctly based on more appropriate criteria.
But that doesn’t mean that thinking in terms of generations is completely off base. There are very clear and meaningful differences between Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials.
Being born during a specific time period means one has experienced culture through a specific frame, which leads to a unique worldview. Shared events and circumstances lead to shared values and attitudes, and this is why understanding Generation X’s perception of the world during its formative years can be highly instructive.
This has been an overview of Generation X’s importance, just in case you’ve been ignoring us. We’ll dive in at a more meaningful level in future issues of Longevity Gains.
This is one of the best things I’ve read in a long time. There wasn’t much I didn’t already know, but this was constructed in a way that makes the reader frequently and abruptly halt and say, “let me read that again, and again”.
Well written, Brian!
A lot of good and interesting information. I was born in the years defined as Baby Boomer. But, I don't identify with them. I am a member of Generation Jones. We were born between 1954 and 1965. We came of age in the 1970s. Nothing like the experience of Baby Boomers. Some Gen Jones celebs are Madonna, Magic Johnson, Bill Gates, Princess Diana, and Barack Obama, who once declared himself “the first Generation Jones president.