The Greatest Generation members also tend to be the parents of the Baby Boomer generation. There are fewer than 100,000 of the Greatest Generation left today in the U.S.
The Greatest Generation – born 1901-1924
This group was also representative of the majority of soldiers in World War II. If still with us, these folks are between the ages of 98 and 121.
The Pew Research Center uses 1928 to 1945 as birth years for this cohort. According to this definition, people of the Silent Generation are 78 to 95 years old in 2023.
The Silent Generation followed the Greatest Generation. Known as traditionalists, the Silent Generation were small in number due to low birthrates in the 1920s and 1930s and were generally raised as kids to be seen and not heard, hence their name (coined by Time in a 1951 essay).
Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe define the Lost Generation as the cohort born from 1883 to 1900, who came of age during World War I and the Roaring Twenties. In Europe, they are mostly known as the "Generation of 1914", for the year World War I began.
The “silent generation” are those born from 1925 to 1945 – so called because they were raised during a period of war and economic depression. The “baby boomers” came next from 1945 to 1964, the result of an increase in births following the end of World War II.
According to the US Census Bureau, US boomers have remained the second-largest population group in 2022, comprised of 69.6 million people ages 58 to 76.
Having survived to age 60, men can expect to live another 23 years and women another 26 years.
Gen Z has been called the 'most depressed generation' with the least positive outlook and diminished emotional and social well-being. They have more unmet social needs than any other generation. The statistics for their behavioural-health issues – mental and substance disorders – are alarming.
Gen Z is also the smartest and best educated generation. Having an unlimited wealth of information at our disposal has not gone to waste. In America, 57 percent of Gen Z is reported to have enrolled in a two-year or four-year college, compared to 52 percent of Millenials and 43 percent of Gen X.
Gen Xers would come to be known as one of the “least parented, least nurtured generations in U.S. history,” with parents divorcing at historic rates as both mom and dad worked in pursuit of an American Dream.
Nearly 29 million Boomers retired in 2020, three million more than in 2019. Seventy-five million Boomers are expected to retire by 2030, paving the way for what is now called "The Great Retirement," which may surpass The Great Resignation as the most significant hiring trend for 2022.
Generally, three or four generations span 100 years, but depending on a number of factors, that same amount of time could produce as little as two generations or as many as five generations.
Counting back, every generation twice as many ancestors as the generation of descendants. Given 25 years per generation, 40 generations occur in 1000 years.
Gen Z is currently the smallest adult population in U.S.
Members of Gen Z age 18 or older only make up 10.3% of the total U.S. population, compared to the largest generation, millennials, who make up nearly 22%. Even once all of Gen Z are grown, they'll still be a smaller generation than millennials.
Gen Z's awareness and approach to mental health can have a positive influence on their parenting by allowing them to be emotionally healthy and drivers of open communication. It can also help shape a future generation that will understand, accept, and seek to treat their own mental health issues.
That said, there is hope for Generation Z to retire comfortably. These workers have several decades to continue earning income and investing in their future, and the greater time horizon could allow their savings to grow exponentially.
It is estimated that Gen Z will have 17 jobs across 5 different careers in their lifetime.
In 2011, that first round of Baby Boomers—those Americans born between 1946 and 1964—turns 65. From now until 2030, 10,000 Baby Boomers each day will hit retirement age. Millions will begin to officially retire, collect social security checks and go on Medicare.
Seventy-nine percent of workers 57 to 75-years old said they would rather be semi-retired than leave the workforce entirely, according to a survey released on Wednesday by Express Employment Professionals staffing agency and Harris Poll. The main reason: many baby boomers are worried about their finances.
According to data from the Insured Retirement Institute in 2019, about 45% of baby boomers surveyed had no savings.
Here are the top three things contributing to Gen Z's loneliness. Our preoccupation has skyrocketed in recent years. We are all distracted. We are distracted by work, house chores, progress, social media, the activities of today, the commitments of tomorrow, and then relieving the stress from it all.
Aside from a few other perks, like being able to watch more Netflix and YouTube, older respondents said their overall mental health is better, too. About 70 percent, in fact, said they feel happier and more content while only 30 percent of that cohort reported stress.