Day 25: Not All Boomers Are Rich

Age doesn’t tell us everything about a person’s financial status.

I get tired of the portrayal of Boomers as rich simply because they were born in a certain generation. It’s a lazy view, in my humble opinion. It makes one generation the scapegoat for a much bigger and more complicated mess.

Recently, I saw a headline in Maclean’s that I’m sure was designed to provoke a strong reaction. Classic clickbait. It worked.

The Great Generational Rip-Off.

The subtitle reads: Boomers are hoarding Canada’s wealth. Millennials are fighting for scraps. A radical case for redistribution.

I know. Boomers paid less for their houses. Those who own their homes—especially in the GTA, Vancouver, or other markets where housing prices have risen dramatically, often do have a higher net worth.

But having a high net worth doesn't necessarily mean having a high income.

Statistics Canada reported that in 2023, the median net worth for people living alone who were 65 or older was $475,900. That figure includes assets such as a home, so it doesn't mean someone has nearly half a million dollars sitting in the bank.

And there are plenty of older Canadians whose financial reality looks very different from the wealthy Boomer stereotype.

My husband and I are not wealthy Boomers.

Our financial situation is complicated, and at times I have felt shame about it.

At 45, my husband had a heart attack, followed by several years on disability because of health-related issues. At 55, he lost his job when the church we were part of decided it wanted different leadership.

I was a stay-at-home mom, largely because I made a choice rooted in the culture of the evangelical church. It was a culture that placed a high value on women staying home to raise their children. I also had undiagnosed ADHD which I now understand impacted many aspects of our lives.

We lived paycheque to paycheque while raising our kids in a middle-class neighbourhood in the GTA.

I know there are many seniors using food banks. There are seniors struggling to live on government benefits. There are seniors who are financially comfortable.

And there are very wealthy Boomers.

All of those things can be true at the same time.

The problem is that we keep talking about the wealth of Boomers as though it belongs equally to every Boomer.

It doesn't.

A generation is not a person.

And age doesn't tell you someone's financial story. I work with many women who are deeply worried about their ability to live on their savings into their old age. Government benefits won’t be enough.

I would love to have a conversation about wealth disparity but let’s not place the blame on everyone over 65.