Quote:
Originally Posted by Saul Good
I said I was better off, but I'm not sure now that I think about it. I make a lot more than my dad did, but my wife makes a lot less than my mom did. We're probably about the same, but my parents really started to earn a lot when they reached my age or a little older. I don't think I will ever earn as much at my peak as they did at theirs.
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Yes, peak earning years, and whether or not there are any post-retirement benefits (read: pension) can make a huge difference. You can be 35 and making much better bank than your parents did, even adjusted for inflation, but if you parents were in job with a high degree of job security, and with steady raises, their peak earning years might have been pretty late in life. IIRC, studies have recently found thta peak earning years are happening earlier -- usually people do the best when they are in their 40s or so.
And if your parents spent 30 years somewhere and had a nice pension, well, that's the gift that keeps giving.