Baby Boomers and seniors : It's where the money is !
50+ concentrate in their hands the majority of disposable revenues.The myth of the little old lady of slender means who ekes out her widow’s pension is an enduring one.
And, unfortunately, there is still some truth in it. Among the oldest strata of the population, rare were the households where both husband and wife had a job and the wherewithal to make proper financial provision for their retirement.
Fortunately, in the post-war period, changes in people’s attitudes brought about rapid changes in society: supplementary insurance schemes, women in the workforce, access to higher education, etc. Thanks to all these changes, retired people are, for the most part, among the most comfortably-off nowadays. Is this surprising? After all, they worked for over 40 years, tightened their belts to be able to pay off their mortgages (70% are home owners!) and give their children an education. They also paid taxes, Social Security contributions, etc. If all these efforts over the years did not lead to an improvement in retirees’ material situation. our model of society would be called into question …
Percentage rate of personal assets
AGE | Savings accounts | Savings products | Mortgages | Bonds or investment funds | Mutual funds | Shares |
| - 50 | 51.2% | 84.2% | 45.5% | 2.7% | 6.6% | 10.3% |
| 50-59 | 15.9% | 82.0% | 47.6% | 5.6% | 12.6% | 16.7% |
| 60-69 | 13.4% | 81.7% | 38.4% | 7.2% | 14.6% | 16.4% |
| 70+ | 19.5% | 85.2% | 26.3% | 9.6% | 16.4% | 14.4% |
| Total: 50+ | 48.8% | 82.9% | 37.4% | 7.5% | 14.5% | 15.8% |
(Source: Le Marketing Book Seniors – Secodip 2000)