The current system also seems to assume people’s monetary needs diminish as they become older. But today’s seniors are neither sedentary, nor interested in sitting in an old recliner and watching their drapes fade. “You would think it would stop at a certain age it stops, but it doesn’t,” said the nurse from B. C., noting she still gardens and plays bridge while her husband, who worked in advertising, plays tennis. “You still want to replace the kitchen counters or get new draperies or maybe the roof on the house needs to be repaired. All of those kinds of things get delayed or put on hold.”
People like Mr. Kerr or the retired nurse, whose age hovers around the threshold for forced RRIF withdrawal, will likely be the hardest hit within the silent generation, according to Mr. Foot, the economist. “I have a lot of sympathy who are literally hitting 71 and having to make a decision in this environment,” he said. “We may be a little flip and say ‘Well, they’ve had a charmed life until now,’ but let’s have a little sympathy for their position now.”
Considering the effect of the financial crisis on a generational scale does have its limitations, Mr. Foot noted. Many baby boomers still have time to recover any losses but older members — those born on the blurry edge with the silent generation — will likely face significant problems as well. Conversely, the oldest members of the silent generation likely traded their investments for a fixed income years ago, leaving them largely unaffected by current woes.
For the young members of the silent generation, however, the coming years may hold a financial uncertainty not experienced since their childhoods. Russ Donaldson, 72, from Cobourg, Ont., described himself in an e-mail as a “pretty conservative investor” who nonetheless has seen 10% of his portfolio disappear “since the market turned south.”
“I hope that my wife and I will live long enough to recoup those losses,” he said.
