The RIAS ‘Yuppies of Yesteryear' report reveals that money is more important than ever to some of the UK's 11.9m 50 - 65 year olds, a number of whom were the twenty and thirty-something high flyers of the 1980s. Just under a third (29%) admit that money matters to them even more today than it did three decades ago, and one sixth (16%) see earning a bigger salary as their key financial priority for the next 10 years.
While the Yuppies - young, high achieving city-dwellers with well-paid jobs and affluent lifestyles - were known for their love of making money, this was also a famously technology savvy and socially connected generation.
It seems that this trait could have grown up with them - one in five 50-65 year olds (21%) say that they still keep up with the latest gadgets, with four out of ten (39%) more interested in the latest gizmos than ever before.
While they retain their ‘yuppie mentality' over gadgetry and technology, it seems that the yuppies of yesteryear are now more prudent with their hard earned and much prized cash - trading ‘Spend! Spend! Spend!' for financial security. When asked about financial priorities for the next ten years, almost a quarter (23%) said preparing for their retirement and almost one fifth (18%) plan to pay off a mortgage or debt. One in ten (11%) are prioritising saving more generally.
As expected, the overwhelming majority (77%) lived in urban and suburban environments 30 years ago, but now only 56% of 50-65 year olds live in similar locations, with one quarter now living and spending most of their time in the country.
Janet Connor, managing director at RIAS commented: "It's fascinating to see how the original ‘yuppies' have come of age. It appears that some things never change - they still value money and a good lifestyle - but now it's good to see that they're being prudent with their money and putting it into their retirement, paying off their mortgage and savings.
"This generation really have used their experience and driven personalities to set themselves up for a comfortable and enjoyable retirement. The days of schmoozing may be behind them, but with laptop in hand and Twitter accounts aplenty, they're clearly not relaxing just yet, and finding the time to play hard!"
