Gen Z protests: Do Baby Boomers really have it better than young people?

Young people across Germany and Europe are taking to the streets, voicing fears of a bleak future. The protests question whether Baby Boomers truly had it better than the current generation, a debate youth researcher Simon Schnetzer says is both fair and necessary.

Schnetzer, who authored the annual Youth in Germany study, highlights a core question from the demonstrations: "Have we given young people the conditions they need to live and work here with confidence, and to keep this system funded?" His answer is a straightforward no.

The material surveys data on pensions, education, housing, and climate change to compare the two generations' experiences. While both face societal shifts, the nature of those challenges differs significantly, with Gen Z contending with a shrinking workforce and an escalating climate crisis.

Pensions and poverty among the elderly

A clear trend shows that fewer young people are supporting an ever-growing number of retirees. In 1957, there were 3.73 contributors for every retiree in Germany's public pension insurance system. By 2025, this ratio had fallen to just 2.1.

By 2045, the number of contributors per retiree is projected to drop to 1.73. In absolute terms, this means 35.35 million contributors will be financing pensions for 16.82 million retirees. To cushion this trend and keep contribution rates stable, the pension system receives around €118 billion in annual government subsidies.

These subsidies amount to roughly 25% of the federal budget, meaning an increasing share of the population will be called upon to help fund pensions. Signs also indicate that many people's pensions are already falling short of covering their living expenses. The number of retirees relying on federal basic income support has risen from 257,000 in 2003 to 738,000 in 2024.

Rent and housing costs

Rising rents hit low-income households particularly hard. According to a report by the German Institute for Economic Research, the share of income spent on rent by low-income households rose from around 24% in 1990 to nearly 36% in 2021.

This means that in 2021, the lowest-income households spent an average of 14 percentage points more of their income on rent than high-income households. According to Germany's Federal Statistical Office, in 2025, an average of 11% of the population spent more than 40% of their disposable income on housing costs.

Among people at risk of poverty, the figure was as high as 35%. However, real estate platform Jacasa projects that Boomers could actually help ease pressure on the housing market in the coming years. They currently own around 4.8 million owner-occupied houses and apartments.

Over the coming decades, these properties are expected to change hands as former occupants sell them, move into assisted living, or hand them down through inheritance. In some regions, this could lead to an oversupply of properties and, consequently, lower prices.

Investment in education

Despite increased funding, Germany's education system faces a critical shortage of teachers. According to the federal government's Education Finance Report, public spending on education for people under 30 has doubled since 2011, rising from around €4,000 to approximately €8,000 per person annually.

However, Germany ranks only in the middle of the pack internationally. According to the Federal Statistical Office, public education spending accounted for 4.6% of Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, compared with an OECD average of 4.7%.

The additional funding cannot solve the problem of teacher shortages. According to estimates by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, Germany will be short of around 27,000 teachers by 2035. The main reasons are the wave of Baby Boomer retirements and declining birth rates, which have contributed to a shortage of young teachers.

Climate change

The material also highlights the existential threat of climate change. Back in 1972, the Club of Rome warned of the consequences of global warming in its landmark publication The Limits to Growth. According to the United Nations, the planet is on track for 2.6°C of warming by the end of the century compared with pre-industrial levels.

If the world maintains its current climate policies, children who are six years old today could experience heat waves two to seven times as often as Boomers did over their lifetimes. That was the finding of a 2025 study by Vrije University in Brussels.

The deadly impact of extreme weather is already evident in rising death tolls during recent heatwaves. According to Germany's Robert Koch Institute, an estimated 16,000 people died from heat-related causes across Germany by mid-September 2026. The vast majority — more than 14,000 — were over the age of 65.

Schnetzer suggests that both generations take to the streets and protest together, adding that would just be the beginning. "What needs to follow is a constructive process to define goals and measures that everyone can support," he said. "Even if it means making sacrifices."