We got it all wrong about the baby boomers
Five years ago, I produced a feature-length documentary, all about the post-war baby boomer generation entering retirement.
As I carried out my research, and filmed interviews for this project, I came across a lot of misconceptions about this entire cohort of people.
It quickly taught me how important it is to not make generalisations about a generation.
Post-war baby boomers were once labelled the ‘selfish generation’. They were called by the Bishop of London, Rt Rev Richard Chartres, the ‘fortunate’ generation.
With boomers benefiting through the years from free education, rising property prices, booming investment markets, and gold-plated final salary pensions, it’s perhaps a reasonable accusation to make.
But new data has challenged the long-held assumption that members of the baby boomer generation get an unfair share of benefits in society, relative to younger people.
Personal finance news
-Chancellor Sajid Javid has responded to speculation about a change in stamp duty policy,saying he has no plans to shift the tax burden to property sellers. Under the current system, buyers pay stamp duty on property or land transactions.
-UK chief executive pay fell by an average of 13% between 2017 and 2018. CEOs are still earning 117 times more than the average UK full-time worker, who receives £29,574 a year.
-Graduates in England could be owed more than £28 million in student loan overpayments, with this pot of money currently held by the government. It follows cases where employers continue to deduct student loan repayments, even when the debt is fully repaid.
-Barclays have topped a list of banks suffering from the most IT problems affecting customers. The figures show banking customers across the sector face an average of 10 digital shutdowns each month.
-Research from Saga, the membership organisation for over 50s, has found more than two thirds of members feel their generation is unfairly criticised for having a disproportionate share of society’s advantages. The feeling of unfair treatment is because their motivation for buying property and saving consistently was to help provide for future generations.
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