How Views on Aging Look Across Generations

Regardless of age, Americans believe in personal reinvention, but they also face concerns and stressors that dampen their optimism for the future, especially surrounding financial security and life’s traditional milestones.

AARP conducted a survey in August 2025 of adults ages 18-plus that revealed generational insights into how people feel about their personal progress, financial security, and life beyond age 80. The findings reveal hope and hesitation as people across generations navigate aging, work, and a rapidly changing future. The results reveal older generations feel more secure, optimistic and settled as younger generations navigate uncertainty, burnout and delayed progress.

In short, the vision of aging is changing. Work has evolved to move beyond a single career that ends with retirement at age 65. Consumer spending is being driven by older adults, with those ages 50-plus accounting for 53% of that spending — creating a longevity economy totaling $8.5 trillion. And more people are planning for a lifespan that surpasses their 80^th birthday and even approaches the century mark.

Underpinning it all is a hope that life evolves and the path taken will transform over time. New chapters are not only common but also anticipated, with most adults (56%) believing they can reinvent themselves. This belief, felt most acutely among the youngest adults ages 18-28 (61%), remains among the majority of Americans as they age.

Expectations of longevity

Americans expect to live long lives, with about 70% anticipating they will live into their 80s or older. This expectation increases among older adults, with nearly half (45%) of adults over age 60 believing they will celebrate their 90^th birthday, compared to 29% of adults under age 30 envisioning a life into their 90s.

Celebrating nearly a century of life also creates some apprehension. Many adults (57%) are at least somewhat concerned or anxious about life after age 80. The concerns seem to subside with age, however, with 72% of adults who are already over age 60 looking forward to it (compared to 48% of those ages 45-60 and 41% of those ages 29-44).

Delays in life’s milestones

The changing expectations surrounding aging are reflected in part in the delays of life’s traditional milestones. Housing purchases, family formation, career building and retirement savings are not on pace with the traditional norms of older generations.

Although there are more paths to adulthood now than in the past, the survey reveals members of younger generations may still desire a traditional route and have insecurities about reaching traditional milestones. Large shares of adults in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s report feeling behind for their age on buying homes, career advancement, having families and saving for retirement.

Economic striving and sense of burnout among young and midlife adults alike

Concern over retirement savings spans across generations, and in fact feeling behind on savings is most prevalent among younger adults. Among those ages 29-44, 68% feel behind for their age on retirement savings, as do 60% of those ages 18-28. And as retirement gets closer, many adults still feel they’re not where they should be; slightly more than a third (35%) of adults 61-plus feel behind on putting money away for when they’re no longer working.

Nearly 6 in 10 adults 18-28 (58%) and 42% of those 29-44 say they feel behind in buying a home. Similarly, more than half of adults under 45 say they’re behind in building their careers, while 41% of those ages 45-60 report feeling delayed.

The delays are producing a mental toll, with 53% of adults under age 29 reporting uncertainty about ever getting ahead and 65% agreeing that they often feel exhausted or burned out. The burnout persists for a majority of adults in their 30s, 40s and 50s as well.

There is also a sense among many adults under age 45 that the struggles are more generational than personal. Seven in ten adults under age 29 and 64% of those ages 29-44 say people in their generation will have a hard time achieving financial security.

Methodology

These findings are based on a survey conducted August 1–12, 2025, among U.S. adults 18 and older to look at their perspectives on aging. The sample of 1,000 Americans 18 and older was pulled from the NORC AmeriSpeak panel with data weighted to the latest Current Population Survey (CPS) benchmarks developed by the U.S. Census Bureau. They are balanced by sex, age, education, race/ethnicity and region such that the final weighted data reflect the U.S. population of adults age 18 and over.

For more information, please contact Angela Houghton at ahoughton@aarp.org. For media inquiries, please contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.