If you want to understand someone, don’t ask them their job title, ask them how they feel about risk. Seriously. It’s the closest thing to an X-ray of the soul.
For Boomers and Gen X, risk isn’t just a barometer, it’s an entire weather system. Some approach it wrapped up and prepared, others take a cold plunge with reckless abandon, while a polite few pretend it’s not chilly at all. And that’s why Risk was a key topic we wanted to explore in the Gen Voices series.
It’s not just about rollercoasters
Boomers and Gen X have lived through more plot twists than the Dallas finale; economic shocks, interest rate gymnastics, workplace revolutions, shifting family structures, whole new definitions of “success”, and at least six eras of very questionable fashion. So of course, their relationship with risk is complicated.
Two in five Boomers now keep a tighter grip on finances, a kind of emotional safety blanket that they can’t quite let go of. Meanwhile half of Gen X feel unexpectedly hopeful about retirement but with that familiar X-shaped streak of caution woven through.
But the magic happens when you hear them talk about it. Because the logic doesn’t sound like logic. It sounds like life.
Risk, in Their Own Words (a sneak preview)
We won’t spoil the film, but here’s a small sampler of the Risk soundtrack:
“What’s the point of living if you don’t want to achieve massive things and take great risks to get that?”
But why is risk so important? Because everything else — money, work, family, health, retirement — quietly depends on how someone feels about risk.
Risk is the shadow behind every financial decision. The pinch behind every opportunity. The whisper behind every ‘what if’. It’s also where Boomers and Gen X differ the most and where sometimes, they unexpectedly overlap. And that tension between the familiar and the surprising is exactly what Gen Voices exists to uncover.
Watch the Risk Film
(Honestly, just watch it. It’s the shortest path to understanding later life.)
In less time than it takes for a kettle to boil, you’ll hear Boomers and Gen X talk openly about the risks they took, the ones they avoided, the ones they regret, and the ones they’re considering now as retirement takes on new shapes.
Watch the Risk film now at genvoices.co.uk
And while you’re there, keep exploring as this is just one of eight topics we’ve created:
- Risk
- Work
- Family
- Retirement
- Finances
- Values
- Health
- Success
So, stick around and discover more about how Boomers and Gen X are reinventing what retirement means.
Footnote references
Just Group Boomer and Gen X Segmentation Studies 2025