The Baby Boomers earned their moniker for shattering birth records in the late 1940s through the ’50s, becoming the largest generation the United States had ever seen. But as they’ve aged into retirement, it’s become clearer that the Boomer generation is actually two distinct generations in one.
Older Boomers are what we might call the “classic” Boomers, the ones who “fit the description,” so to speak. But younger Boomers, those born between 1954 and 1965, are in a category of their own. Because of the timing of their birth and the social, political, and economic changes at key points in their lives, this microgeneration known as Generation Jones is facing a different retirement reality than their older siblings.
It starts with when Gen Jones entered the job market
As Adam Shell explains for Kiplinger, “Generation Jones grew up during economic, political and technical upheaval, from Watergate to the Iran hostage crisis, inflation to a crippling oil shock.” When they entered the job market, they didn’t see the thriving economy older Boomers enjoyed as young adults. In fact, their woes largely parallel those of Gen Z today, starting their careers in an economy that isn’t optimal for their launch.
Personal finance expert Austin Williams shares a breakdown of the financial challenges Gen Jones has faced since they came of age, explaining why they haven’t experienced the prosperity their older Boomer counterparts enjoyed.
Older Boomers entered the job market between 1964 and 1971, during the “golden age of capitalism.” Unemployment was low, and it was pretty easy to find and keep a job. Even high school graduates with no college degree were able to start building careers with job training and long-term security in the form of pensions.
“But now, let’s look at the economy Generation Jones entered, from the years of 1972 to 1983,” says Williams. “By this time, the economy had changed drastically. And Generation Jones entered the era known as the stagflation era of slow economic growth, high unemployment, and rapid price inflation.”
The unemployment rate alone had doubled by the time Gen Jones were starting their careers. So from the beginning, Boomers were on two different financial trajectories.
Then they tried to buy a house…
A house is an investment, but when you buy makes a big difference in what you’ll see as a return on that investment.
“Buying a home in a favorable housing market can create financial stability for decades, while buying a home in an unfavorable one can make everything else harder,” Williams points out. Unfortunately, Gen Jones got the short end of the housing stick.
Older Boomers reached home-buying age shortly before a sharp rise in inflation, which also came with a rise in wages. That meant their housing payment ended up taking up a smaller percentage of their income not long after they purchased, freeing up income for other savings or investments.
Gen Jones, however, reached home-buying age just as interest rates were at their highest (a whopping 18% in 1981). Home prices had also spiked by then due to inflation, which worked in older Boomer homeowners’ favor, but made home buying harder for Gen Jones.
While the homes older Boomers bought cost less than three times a family’s annual income, the same homes cost Gen Jones four times their income. That meant larger down payments, larger mortgages, and larger monthly payments, all of which put Gen Jones at a disadvantage in a major wealth-building category.
The move from pensions to 401(k)s, prosperity to recession
Prior to Gen Jones, most employees relied on pensions to fund their retirement. But by the time Gen Jonesers were established enough in their careers to plan for retirement, those pensions were disappearing and being replaced by 401(k)s.
“The risk and responsibility of retirement preparation shifted from the employer to the employee,” says Williams. “And with this shift, Generation Jones now had to figure out how much to save, where to invest, how much risk to take, and whether they’re on track to retire with no previous generation to turn to for answers.”
Additionally, older Boomers and Gen Jones enjoyed their prime earning years during different economic eras. Older Boomers were in their midlife from 1986 to 2010, almost entirely within one of the most prosperous eras in U.S. history. They were affected by the Great Recession of 2008, but to a lesser degree than Gen Jones because they were already past the peak responsibility-intense years of raising a family.
Gen Jones’ midlife hit from 1994 to 2019. They already felt more financial squeeze because of their slower start and their housing costs taking up more of their income. Then the financial crisis hit, and their home value collapsed, their retirement portfolios lost value, and some even lost their jobs.
“Now, because he’s at the height of his responsibility,” Williams says of the prototypical Gen Joneser, “he might be forced to make some difficult financial decisions like selling his home, selling investments, stop contributing to his retirement accounts, or look for a lower-paying job to stay afloat.”
Arriving at retirement in different boats
All of this adds up to one conclusion: Older Boomers and Generation Jones have arrived at retirement age in fairly close succession, but that 10-year difference between them means they arrived in different boats.
Obviously, we can’t paint any group of millions of people with too broad a brush, but the median net worth compared to the average tells an interesting story about Gen Jones’ wealth as they hit retirement.
As Kiplinger reports, “The average net worth of people in their 60s is $1,577,907, a hefty seven-figure nest egg that suggests a solid retirement for a large swath of Generation Jones, according to data from the Empower Personal Dashboard as of January 2026. But the median net worth of only $274,564 paints a less robust picture of Generation Jones’ retirement readiness.”
In other words, some extremely wealthy individuals have skewed the average net worth while a whole lot of Gen Jonesers are reaching quitting time without much of a cushion to land on.
Williams succinctly sums up the difference in Boomer retirement realities:
“Many older Boomers are finding themselves at the finish line with a full Social Security payment at 65. homes which may have appreciated by several hundred thousand, a pension plan giving them an extra thousand a month, and a decent 401(k) plan,” he says. “While Generation Jones is finding themselves taking reduced Social Security payments at 65, have accumulated less home equity, have little to no pension income, and accumulated smaller 401(k) balances. Both groups came from the same generation, and both groups probably worked very hard and did their best to make the best financial decisions, but depending on where they were born in that 20-year time frame had a massive impact on their financial outcomes by the time they reached retirement.”
You may technically be Boomers, but we see you, Gen Jones.
