30 Somethings & Age: A Generation Of Denial

There’s an interesting essay on the Guardian’s ‘Comments Are Free’ site by John Harris who looks at the impact of the thirty-something generation behavior on both today’s aged and the prospects of their own old age. Harris argues that the poor attention older people get in the UK has a lot to do with thirty somethings being wrapped up in their obsession of youth (or “middle youth”). They simply can’t and won’t deal with the retired and old. But the paradox is, that despite their disinterest in older generations, this generation’s lack of savings will mean that they will be dependent on the help from a more caring generation of thirty somethings when they hit old age.

[A]s the number of older people increases, so too does a massed refusal to engage with what that entails. A culture in which middle age has been blithely rebranded “middle youth”, it seems, has precious little room for a conversation about what it might mean to be old.

My own generation looks like the key source of the problem. Millions of us can look forward to life beyond 85. Though a lot of us will disprove the assumption that old age means long spells of illness and frailty, we will require serious money to fund our eventual retirement; as and when we eventually surrender to dependency on care, our financial needs will be all the more urgent.

But look where we are. Of late, we have been maligned as the “no-nest-egg generation”. Savings rates are at their lowest for 50 years; nearly half of those in work have made no financial provision for their retirement, and the figure seems to be rising… Long before we get hit for our own care bills, we may soon find ourselves in the midst of a painful dress-rehearsal, as our parents get ensnared in the complications that surround both residential care and assistance at home, and call on our help. But where is any of this in our thoughts?

John Harris: A generation in denial | Comment is free | The Guardian