How to resolve AdBlock issue? Gen X Australians are caught by intergenerational caring
By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>
A LOT OF THE FOCUS of the Federal Budget has been on fixing intergenerational equity problems.
But Toby Ellis, the managing director of Australian lifestyle and rewards platform Citro says Citro research shows that Gen X has been left out of the equation.
He said the survey of Gen Xers showed that one in two felt they were excluded from public conversation.
“It’s not just about being left out of the conversation. In fact, 90% of the Gen Xers we surveyed described themselves as exhausted, uncertain, stretched or coping,” Mr Ellis told Talking Business.
“In fact, only 3% described themselves as thriving, so that’s not great. 
“And two-thirds of Gen Xers said they were feeling emotionally and mentally stretched by caring responsibilities,” he said.
“So we’ve got a real problem that we’re not really talking about.”
Society has changed in recent decades
Mr Ellis acknowledged there ‘were issues’ for younger generations with housing and cost of living – and there were older Australians who were the focus of retirement policies.
Part of the problem, too, is that Gen Xers are now talking care of parents who are in retirement.
“Gen X often falls between the cracks and it’s hard because they’re caring for kids but also they’re the sandwich generation,” Mr Ellis said.
“Some of them are caring for parents at the same time.
“All the while, they’re navigating health changes, work pressures and lots of growing insecurity.”
He said the issues of housing facing younger generations also impacts their parents as they’re finding ways to support their kids.
Mr Ellis said while Gen Z could only find a home with the help of ‘the bank of mum and dad’, mum and dad also faced their own mortgage challenges.
“Our survey found that one-third (of Gen Xers) expect to retire with mortgage debt,” he said.
Retirement confidence is retiring
Mr Ellis said AMP’s recent Retirement Pulse survey found less than two-in-five Gen X Australians felt confident about retirement.
“So what that means is you’re worried about retirement, you’re worried about having a mortgage in retirement but interestingly from our survey, three in five expect to work longer because of these worries,” Mr Ellis said.
“One in two lack confidence about employability because they see that two-in-five are experiencing age-related bias so as a Gen Xer, you’re worried about carrying a mortgage in retirement when you’re also nervous about being able to sustain your employment to pay for the mortgage while you’re trying to get on with it and care for the people you love.
“Financial and mortgage stress sit through the generations.”
Mr Ellis said the issue is that we need fewer Gen Xers, or indeed any generation, feeling they can’t cope.
“We’re also talking about the biggest contributors to productivity,” he said.
“Gen Xi is looking after kids is looking after parents and they can’t look after other members of the community if they are not feeling okay themselves,” Mr Ellis said.
“And so, in order to look after the younger generation, in order to look after the older generation, they’re helping to care for … as the sandwich generation, they need to be okay, that’s really important.” 
Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness
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