Usually when I watch a TikTok video, it’s one of three things: true crime, a cute puppy, or something wildly inappropriate.
But recently, I have noticed I am getting more retirement videos popping up. One got me thinking – a presenter said that Gen Z, of which I am proudly a member, could end up working longer than Millennials before they can claim their state pension.
And it frustrated me. I’m 26, worked full time since I was 21 and I genuinely can’t imagine retiring before I’m 70.
I pay a hell of a lot in tax, and not because I’m a particularly high earner. I’ve paid more in rent than some of my older peers did at my age, and I’m trying my hardest to save for a retirement that sometimes feels like it might never happen.
And I’m not the only one thinking about retirement. Research from Standard Life found that people in the UK would ideally like to retire at around 62, but expect to actually stop working at almost 68 – a gap of nearly six years.
Both Gen Z and Millennials have had a tough time but both seem determined to win the title of the most hard done by.
The financial crisis, stagnant wages and student debt certainly didn’t make life easy for Millennials – people generally born between 1981 and 1996.
But they do seem to have it easier when getting on the property ladder, whereas home ownership can feel completely out of reach for many of my peers. I was lucky enough to buy a property because I received a large inheritance.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average home in England cost £300,000 in 2025, compared with median annual earnings of £39,300 for a full-time employee. That means the typical home costs 7.6 times annual earnings.
London is even more brutal, with an affordability ratio of 10.6 times average earnings.
For context, the ONS data shows homes have become substantially less affordable over the longer term: England’s affordability ratio was around 3.5 times earnings in 1997, compared with 7.6 times today.
So, when someone tells a Gen-Zer to simply “save for a deposit”, I can’t help wondering, with what money?
Imagine trying to save while paying increasing amounts of money on rent, food, energy, transport and other costs, only to be told, “Don’t worry, you’ll get your state pension eventually.”
Under current legislation, the state pension age is rising from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028, with a further rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046. That timetable can still be reviewed, meaning today’s younger workers have no guarantee the rules will stay exactly the same.
And that’s where I think the generational argument gets uncomfortable. Because previous generations didn’t just have access to a state pension. Many also had property wealth, which is something younger people increasingly struggle to get today.
The Resolution Foundation found that 53 per cent of Baby Boomers born in 1961-65 were homeowners by age 30, compared with just 27 per cent of Millennials born in 1981-85.
If you bought a house decades ago, you weren’t simply buying somewhere to live. You were potentially buying an asset that could increase dramatically in value.
For someone entering the housing market today, that opportunity is much harder to access. And if you don’t own a home, you could still be paying rent well into retirement.
That matters. A homeowner who has paid off their mortgage can eventually have dramatically lower bills whilst a private renter doesn’t necessarily get that luxury.
Meanwhile, the latest ONS figures show private rents in England rose 4 per cent in the year to August 2026, while regular wage growth was 3.5 per cent.
Gen Z isn’t just being told we might have to work longer; we also have less opportunity to build wealth along the way.
That’s the part that bothers me.
Yes, there’s a perfectly understandable argument for increasing the state pension age as people are living longer, the population is ageing and the Government has to find the money somehow.
But you can’t look at the pension age in isolation. What happens to someone who has spent their working life renting?
What happens to someone in a physically demanding job who simply can’t carry on until 68? And what happens to the person who spends their twenties and thirties trying to save a deposit, only to find the house they could once have afforded has moved further away?
This isn’t about blaming Millennials, and it certainly isn’t about blaming pensioners. It’s about recognising that the economic starting line keeps moving.
A generation can do everything it’s told, like work, pay tax, save where it can, and still find that the big milestones previous generations took for granted are becoming harder.
Maybe that’s why the TikTok struck a nerve. Because ultimately, it’s not about whether Gen Z minds working until 68. It’s about whether we’re getting a fair deal in return.
If you’re going to tell a generation to work longer, you also need to explain how they’re supposed to afford to live while they’re working – and afford to retire when they finally get there.
Because otherwise, what you’re really saying is pay more, work longer, buy less, save more, and hope there’s something left at the end.
I’m not sure that’s the great retirement plan anyone was promised.
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