Roughly 4 million baby boomers will turn 80 this year, the first wave of a generation 76 million strong. What does that mean for millennials? For many, the questions are already here, from who will care for aging parents to how to pay for it, and the answers run through caregiving, living arrangements, and inheritance. The 4 million estimate comes from William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.
Why an Old Reddit Post Took Off Again
A three-year-old Reddit post went viral again this July. “Not an issue, we refuse to take care of you. Old folks home it will be,” the poster wrote in response to a Vox article warning that millennials were unprepared for a coming eldercare crisis. Commenters added grievances about housing costs, student debt, and a dismantled social safety net, calling refusal “a consequence” of boomer decisions.
A Generation Reinventing Old Age
“They are reinventing old age,” Joseph Coughlin, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab, told the Wall Street Journal. Boomers had high expectations and used their sheer numbers to make them happen, the paper reported. Close to 15 million Americans are 80 or older, and Frey said that group is expected to double within two decades. On average, those 80 and older hope to live to 93, according to the Pew Research Center.
Caregiver Numbers Keep Climbing
A Population Reference Bureau fact sheet shows that the number of family caregivers assisting older adults grew 32% between 2011 and 2022, rising from 18.2 million to 24.1 million. Adult children remain the single largest category, accounting for 40.7% of family caregivers in America. Older boomers and their adult children are expected to ask for more in-home diagnosis and treatment, telemedicine, and support for caregivers, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Sharing a Home, Weighing the Cost
Over 66 million Americans, roughly one in four, now live in multigenerational households, a trend Pew Research Center attributes primarily to financial necessity. Senior living carries its own price tag, with entry fees at life plan communities averaging between $100,000 and $400,000 and average monthly fees close to $5,000, the Wall Street Journal reported. The paper said a large share may skip senior living and stay home.
Smaller Families, Fewer Hands
“My grandmother had six children. They’re taking care of her now in rotation. My mother has two children, and I myself only have two,” Washington Post reporter Federica Cocco told LiveNow from Fox. Adults are also more geographically dispersed from aging parents than earlier generations, and a documented shortage of paid care workers pushes responsibility back onto unpaid family members, according to Fortune.
When Savings Run Short
Cocco also cited the case of Conrad Miles, who saved $200,000 for retirement and did “everything right.” His daughter watched that entire cushion evaporate, and he died at 93 with $30,000 left, barely enough for a few months of assisted living. Nearly one in five Americans will need high-intensity long-term care for more than three years, according to Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research.
Spending Shifts After 80
Personal spending declines broadly after 80, among the rich and poor alike, with less going to trips and vacations and more to healthcare, according to Michael Hurd, an economist and senior principal researcher at Rand Corp. Healthcare accounts for about 15.4% of average household spending for couples 80 and older, compared with 11% for households 65 to 69. Trips and leisure fall below 5% for wealthier 80-plus couples.
A Smaller Inheritance Ahead
Realtor.com’s analysis of new Visa Business and Economic Insights data puts the assets boomers hold at roughly $93 trillion. Only about $36 trillion of that is likely to reach Gen X and millennial heirs over the next 20 years, roughly 39 cents on every dollar, once retirement spending, debt, taxes, and fees are subtracted. That falls short of the “greatest wealth transfer in history” millennials might once have expected.
The House Often Becomes the Safety Net
“The house is usually the last asset left in retirement, so it often turns into a retirement emergency fund before it ever becomes the children’s inheritance,” said Evan Mills, an associate financial advisor at Scholar Advising, in Realtor.com’s analysis. Gaston Pereira, who turns 80 this year and works at the financial tech company he founded with his son, wonders whether his adult sons will want to work at 80.
