SEOUL, October 07 (AJP) — Older generations on both sides of the Pacific — seemingly the last to have enjoyed an era of abundant liquidity and cheap borrowing — are benefiting from asset inflation, helping fuel consumer spending this year despite geopolitical risks and elevated interest rates.
In South Korea, investors aged 60 and older accounted for 40 percent of individual investors’ domestic stock profits in the first half despite representing less than a third of trading.
U.S. baby boomers hold nearly $100 trillion in wealth, while Japanese households headed by people in their 60s have the highest average securities holdings among age groups.
The figures point to a common advantage across three aging societies: older generations entered the latest market rally with substantial assets already in hand.
Korea’s seniors turn more proactive with retirement savings
Korean investors aged 60 and above generated 92.35 trillion won ($69.0 billion) in domestic stock profits in January-June, or 40.0 percent of the 231.14 trillion won earned by individual investors at eight major brokerages, according to data the firms submitted to Rep. Kim Jae-sup of the People Power Party.
Their share of profits far exceeded their 29.3 percent share of trading value, with the gap particularly pronounced among the oldest investors.
Those in their 70s accounted for 5.9 percent of trading but 11.2 percent of profits. Investors aged 80 and older represented just 1.1 percent of trading yet generated 3.5 percent of profits.
Much of that pattern reflects where older households stand in the wealth accumulation cycle, according to Yang Jun-sok, an economics professor at the Catholic University of Korea.
“Individuals from their late 50s through their early 70s tend to have the most assets, whether physical or financial, because they have accumulated wealth over decades,” Yang said.
The gains came during a volatile first half. On March 23, the KOSPI plunged 6.49 percent to 5,405.75 as Middle East tensions intensified, triggering a temporary curb on program selling. The benchmark subsequently rebounded to a record close of 9,114.55 on June 22.
Older investors took an increasingly prominent role as the market rallied.
Their 29.3 percent share of first-half trading was up from 15.8 percent in 2021. Investors in their 60s alone accounted for 22.4 percent, rising from 12.8 percent in 2021 and surpassing the 21.5 percent share of those in their 40s.
“For people who are approaching retirement or have just retired, financial assets are often near their lifetime peak,” Yang said. “That means they tend to benefit more when stock markets rise.”
Older Koreans are also borrowing more to invest.
Margin-loan balances held by investors aged 60 and above reached 9.61 trillion won at the end of June, accounting for 30.4 percent of the total at 10 brokerages, according to data obtained by Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Hyun-jung.
Balances among investors aged 70 and older surged 56.8 percent from the end of 2025 to 2.47 trillion won. Those held by people in their 60s jumped 42.3 percent to 7.14 trillion won, also outpacing the overall increase of 36.3 percent.
Margin loans allow investors to borrow from brokerages to buy shares, magnifying both gains and losses.
Yang said the increase may also reflect a broader appetite for risk among Korean investors.
“Korean individual investors tend to follow price momentum more closely and appear more willing to take risks,” he said.
U.S. boomers ride gains on accumulated wealth
In the United States, the scale of older generations’ existing wealth is the dominant factor.
Baby boomers — born between 1946 and 1964 and now roughly 62 to 80 years old — held $97.4 trillion in net worth at the end of the second quarter, according to Yardeni Research’s analysis of the Federal Reserve’s Distributional Financial Accounts.
That vast asset base makes gains in stocks and housing particularly consequential for the generation.
Federal Reserve data released Sept. 11 showed that U.S. household and nonprofit net worth rose by $12.8 trillion to $195.9 trillion in the second quarter, with corporate equity gains accounting for much of the increase.
“Baby boomers bought homes and built up financial assets years ago, so rising house and stock prices increase the value of what they already own,” Yang said.
Retirement patterns, however, distinguish the U.S. experience from Korea’s.
“The United States does not have the same kind of fixed retirement structure as Korea, where many people leave their main jobs in their late 50s,” Yang said.
Older Americans also increased their market activity in September. Charles Schwab’s Trading Activity Index, which tracks trading among its clients, recorded larger monthly increases among older generations than among millennials and Generation Z.
The index for the Silent Generation, the cohort preceding baby boomers, rose 4.20 percent from August. The Baby Boomer index increased 3.02 percent, compared with 2.11 percent for millennials and 0.85 percent for Generation Z.
U.S. equities have since extended their gains. The S&P 500 closed at a record 7,818.93 on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq Composite reached a record 27,599.79, supported by earnings expectations and continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-related companies.
For older households with substantial stock portfolios, such gains can add considerably to wealth even without further purchases.
Japan’s seniors move from savings to investment
In Japan, older households also hold substantial financial assets, while policy incentives and inflation are encouraging more of them to invest.
Households headed by people in their 60s had the highest average securities holdings among age groups in 2025, according to the Statistics Bureau’s Family Income and Expenditure Survey on savings and liabilities, released May 19.
Among households with two or more members, those headed by people in their 60s held an average 7.13 million yen in securities, including stocks, investment trusts and bonds. That compared with 3.48 million yen for households headed by people in their 50s and 4.56 million yen for those aged 70 and above.
A separate Statistics Bureau survey showed a similar pattern in direct stock ownership in 2024. Households headed by people aged 60 to 69 held an average 2.609 million yen in stocks, compared with 2.068 million yen for those in their 50s, 1.368 million yen for those in their 40s and 907,000 yen for those in their 30s.
More recent figures suggest investment participation is also broadening among older Japanese.
A July 6 analysis by Nomura Research Institute, based on Financial Services Agency data, found that the share of people holding Nippon Individual Savings Accounts, or NISA, rose by 2.4 percentage points among both those in their 50s and those in their 60s between June and December 2025.
Those increases exceeded gains of 2.1 percentage points among people in their 20s, 2.0 points among those in their 30s and 1.9 points among those in their 40s.
Yuji Hosaka, a specially appointed professor at Korea University’s Graduate School of Public Administration, pointed to the 2024 overhaul of the tax-exempt investment program as one driver.
“Japan significantly expanded NISA in 2024, allowing people to invest more money while keeping eligible gains tax-free for an unlimited period,” he told AJP.
Under the revised system, individuals can invest up to 3.6 million yen a year, with a lifetime tax-exempt holding limit of 18 million yen, according to the Financial Services Agency.
Hosaka said the program is particularly attractive to older Japanese who accumulated substantial savings during decades when bank deposits were favored over investments. It also supports the government’s longstanding campaign to move household money “from savings to investment.”
Inflation is giving that shift greater urgency.
Many people approaching retirement made their financial plans during Japan’s prolonged period of very low inflation, Hosaka said. Higher prices are now eroding the purchasing power of those savings.
“That is changing Japan’s traditional preference for savings,” he said. “As prices rise and concerns grow over whether retirement funds will be enough, more older people are turning to investment to protect the value of their money.”
Across the three markets, decades of accumulated wealth are giving the silver generation fresh reasons to shine. But as more retirement money rides on stocks, a market turn could take some of that glitter off their golden years.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.