The silver economy, an economy that moves millions and is forgotten

Less than a year ago I stumbled by chance upon some photographs, always with their backs turned, of some mature men with their little gray «mane», always near a luxury item. This made me think that we are tired of analyzing the problems generated for the State by the massive retirement of the “baby boomers” (people born between end of 50´and beginning ´70) but we forget the business opportunities generated by those who, upon retirement, their professional success has allowed them to accumulate a succulent wealth that they are going to spend.For them there are no borders and only those counties of Spain or other parts of the world that provide them with what they demand will get a piece of the pie, perhaps not very big in terms of percentage of the number of people, but certainly in terms of the succulent economic value.

By Miguel ÁngelTemprano

March 13, 2023Reading time: 5,10min

Not long ago I stumbled by chance upon some pictures that showed mature men, always with their backs turned, with «long» hair and always close to something that symbolized success.

I followed the trail of it and it leads me to an Instagram account of some «horny» I do not know if young or mature that with all the good intentions in the world were dedicated to make these pictures. In this case, as in many others, I don’t know if it was the chicken or the egg first, but they even have a website (www.peldericoficial.com) where they not only sell various items, but even link you to a Spotify playlist of songs they like, because they belong to this segment of the population.

«A few pictures of a senior with his back turned near expensive items has been a real marketing campaign without any intention of this economy”

I have to admit that curiosity led me to reflection and then to research. The idea seemed curious to me, people who have been successful in their lives and whom, when the time comes, allow themselves to do whatever they want, obviously within the limits of honesty and legality, and the first symbol is to let their hair «long».

Young people should know that with age, men’s hair, besides turning gray, curls much more easily (well, those who have some left to comb their hair).

But out of the joke, the reflection that this led me to, was that the «baby boom» generation(people born between end of 50´and beginning ´70), to which I belong, is only talked about because of the

economic cost that the payment of their pensions is going to suppose for the State.

«we must start to look at the baby boomers as a source of wealth and not just as a source of consumption of State resources».

But within this generation there is a huge amount of women and men with a successful professional career, which not only allows them to collect the maximum pension, but in many cases they have been able to build up a wealth that they can enjoy in retirement. Retirement that in most cases is not total, because given that their activity has been fundamentally intellectual, their physical wear and tear has been less, and therefore they continue to do things. Sometimes different and sometimes the same as before, but with less intensity since they don´t have the previous pressing.

I realized that I did not know one or two or three people in this situation, but I knew a lot of these people, who were around me and I did not even realize the economy that these people generate.

When I was a child, I used to spend the summer timelike most Spaniards, on the coast and I did it for a whole month. Sometimes even longer (what a time).

«Some tourist destinations in Spain have done everything necessary to drive out the client who spends money”

Well, in my case I was doing it in a small village close to Malaga, at the “Spanish sunny coast”, which prided itself for being one of the favorite destinations of foreigners and of the scenarios of the movies of famous Spanish actor from ´70, Alfredo Landa.

That was a money-making machine for the area, but not for the Spaniards, who after all, we only bought the food we cooked at home. But by the foreigners who came practically with their hands in their bags andconsumed everything. From cabs to restaurants to fashion stores.

Now that town is trying to get up from decades of ostracismthat fell when it became a destination for backpackers, that the most they consumed were the sausages from the supermarket.

We all want the money tourist and if instead of one visit he makes us many, the better, and the longer the better. We want his behavior not to be that of a tourist, but of a luxury resident. This does leave money and therefore wealth for the area.

I don’t know if you, the reader, like golf. I like it very much, although I must admit that whenever I play, something happens to me so that Ialways say that I have never played worse than that day.

«We must apply what we all understand, the client who leaves money is not the young person who starts but the senior who retires”

It is said that it is a sport for the rich, but it is not true, at the end of the day the clubs can last you an eternity; during the game you only drink water and the biggest cost is the green fee. Often no more expensive than a ski pass.

So, why is it said that it is for the rich? Well, I don’t know, but the truth is that most people that play golf in Spain are at least wealthy.

Well, the country with most golfers in the world is the USA. As Nadal once said, the prizes are in line with the income generated by the athlete.

Well, in the USA the PGA Senior Championship gives more prizes than the European Senior Championship.

Does anyone believe that a 25 year old kid is interested in seeing a legend like Phill Mickelson? Clearly not, he wants to see the star of the moment. But his father prefers Phill Mickelson, whom he’s been fed up with watching on TV for years.

And let’s not forget that the kid has to settle for watching the tournament on TV and the father pays, because he can pay for a plane ticket, a hotel, tickets and everything else and most importantly, time. And he never goes alone, at least he goes with her couple.

The senior economy, or rather the «silver economy» as it is now called, is composed of perhaps a relative minority, but in money terms a gigantic minority. And it is an economy that generates great wealth.

«the relative silver minority is an gigantic minority in money terms.»

Anyone who doubts this should go to Florida for a week. There they have everything they need, from quality hotels to attractions of all kinds. And all of high quality. How are they willing to put up with the unbearable sticky heat of summer and the hurricanes of autumn?

Countries like the USAhave been able to see this opportunity that today in Spain we have forgotten.

Just as almost everyone likes chocolate, we all do not like the same one, it is more that every time you eat more and your palate is educated you are more selective and despise most of the chocolate on the market.

However, if you can, you pay extra for good chocolate. So it is with everything. In Spain we love quality tourism (internal and external), but we treat them as if they were backpackers.

The economic structure of the area that takes a good slice of this silver economy will be the one that knows how to bring together everything that this segment of the population demands. But undoubtedly it will fail the one that with a false criterion of equality prevents the development of what this segment of the population demands.

«Only those areas that understand what this segment of the population demands will get a piece of a very, very juicy cake».

So, let’s ask ourselves what this segment demands, and the answer seems simple: good living and health conditions, accompanied by a pleasant environment and other quality attractions, which does not mean exclusivity.

It is rare that we find 500 seniors at a concert jumping around (it is not rare, it is impossible),

but it is feasible to find a good restaurant full every day of the week, one of those that used to be full only on weekends because those who could go had to work.

This population needs, in addition to amenities and quality services, flexible structures so that in addition to doing nothing, they continue to do things.

And this for two reasons, because otherwise they will get old and leave and secondly because Spanish society cannot waste

so much experience and for someone who does not need the money to share it, having at his disposal the means to share it is in itself a payment that society can take advantage of for free.

And I have spoken of Spaniards, but the boom in birth-rate, without being as exaggerated as in Spain, also occurred in the rest of Europe.

One day a person told me that we Spaniards were the most inefficient people in the world. That we were living on something that came for free, the beach and the sun. I do not share this statement in its entirety, but I do share it in part, because despite having experienced in our own flesh what a miserable microbe can do, not only to our health but also to our economy, for the former it has been others who have remedied the problem and for the latter we have done nothing to prevent it from happening again.