Most Gen Z workers doubt they'll ever fully retire, expecting to work past traditional ages due to high costs, student debt, and economic pressure, often working multiple jobs or redefining retirement as continuous part-time work, yet some data suggests they might be better prepared than older generations due to early access to 401(k)s if they manage debt and save consistently. The outlook is mixed: a majority feel financially strained, impacting life choices, but time is on their side for investing, though many feel traditional retirement paths are out of reach.
More than two thirds of Gen Z workers doubt they will ever be able to fully retire and even among those who do believe retirement is possible, holding multiple jobs appears to be part of the equation; respondents confident about retiring work two jobs on average, compared with one job for those who are uncertain.
They're going to be around a long time. Compared to the 70-year life expectancy of baby boomers and the 85-year life expectancy of Gen X, Gen Z is predicted to have a life expectancy of over 100 years.
46% of Gen Z Plan to Quit: How Employers Can Retain Them.
At the earliest, Gen Z will not reach the current state pension age (SPA) of 66 until 2063. The SPA is set to rise to 67 by 2028, and this summer the government set in train a review for the move to SPA 68 – the law currently has the change set for 2046–48.
Whilst boomers and millennials may use the 😂 emoji, this has long since been deemed 'uncool' (or 'cheugy') by Gen Z. Instead, this has been replaced by the skull (💀) or the crying emoji (😭), dramatising the idea of 'dying with laughter'.
It is a known fact that lifespan increases with each generation. For baby boomers, the average life expectancy is 70 years, for Gen X its 85, and newer generations like Gen Z and Alpha will likely exceed the 100-year mark.
There's no single "toughest" generation, as each faces unique struggles, but Generation X (born 1965-1980) is often cited as the most stressed due to balancing work, family, and finances while facing economic uncertainty, yet they also show high resilience, while younger generations like Gen Z grapple with unprecedented housing costs and climate anxiety, making the definition of "tough" subjective and dependent on the specific challenges faced.
There's no single #1 happiest job universally, but Firefighters consistently rank high for job satisfaction due to their sense of purpose, while Care Workers, Counsellors, Content Creators, and IT roles (Java Devs, Systems Analysts) also appear frequently on "happiest" lists for fulfillment, autonomy, or good pay/balance. Overall, jobs with meaning, helping others, nature connection, strong coworker bonds, or good work-life balance tend to be cited as happiest.
Some 28% of respondents expect revenge-quitting at their workplaces in 2025, and 4% plan to revenge-quit themselves. Respondents say their top frustrations with their current roles are a low salary or lack of raises (48% say so), feeling undervalued (34%), and a lack of career growth opportunities (33%).
Social Issues
Humans Could Live For 1,000 Years by 2050—Ushering in the Dawn of 'Practical Immortality,' Futurists Say. Some experts warn that this radical change may remain out of reach for many, due to societal and economic challenges. Technology futurists foresee advances that will enable humans to live up to 1,000 years.
Generation Z, often shortened to Gen Z, is the term generally applied to those born between 1997 and 2012. Recent viral theories suggest this generation may be aging faster than others, particularly in the way they look.
Gen Z's challenges are real, but they do not define the generation as doomed. With the right support- mental health care, emotional resilience training, and opportunities for authentic connection- Gen Z can reshape the future for the better.
Typical lifetime payout rates at age 70 are about 5%–8% depending on carrier and terms. On $400,000, that's roughly $20,000–$32,000 per year for life, before Social Security. Favor increasing-income GLWBs when available so your paycheck can step up over time to fight inflation.
Gen Z is about to become the richest generation alive, according to new research by the Bank of America Institute. "Between significant wealth and increased spending levels over the next 10 years, the consumption patterns of Gen Z will have a strong influence on the global economy," the BofA Global Research team said.
Pilot is the world's dream job, with over 1.3 million global annual searches. Travel-related roles take up a large portion of the dream jobs list; alongside Pilot in first, followed by Flight Attendant in fifth and Travel Agent in sixth.
The roles with high job satisfaction
17 low-stress high-paying jobs
Across much of the world, it is no longer middle-aged adults who are the most miserable. Instead, young people, especially Gen Z, are reporting the highest levels of unhappiness of any age group.
The silent generation (born before 1946) has the second-highest net worth (or assets minus liabilities) at around $1.29 million per household, followed by Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) at $1.11 million per household. Millennials (born after 1980) are the generation with the least wealth.
As well, Sweeney states that "There are research findings showing that Millennials get higher scores on both SAT exams and standard IQ tests"(169) while Tapscott notes that they may bethe "smartest generation ever"(30). Prensky and others also believe that the technical abilities of Millennials are remarkable.
Donald Trump, born in June 1946, falls squarely into the Baby Boomer generation (typically 1946-1964) as one of the first individuals in that cohort, while President Joe Biden, born in 1942, is a member of the preceding Silent Generation (roughly 1928-1946). Trump's birth year places him at the very beginning of the Baby Boom era, making him a Boomer, not Silent Generation.
A Breed in Decay: Why U.S. Millennials and Gen Z Are Dying at an Alarming Rate — Faster Than Any Other Generation in Recent History.
2025 marks the end of Generation Alpha and the start of Generation Beta, a cohort that will include all individuals born between 2025 and 2039.