The economic times are apparently going relatively easy on old folks while sticking it to the whippersnappers. Those at retirement age and beyond were better off in 2009 than they were in 1984, while their younger counterparts faced more difficult struggles.

According to a study by the Pew Research Center, which examined data including the Census, those 65 and older had a far-higher median net worth ($174,494) in 2009 than their brethren from 1984, who are now not only mostly dead but made only 58 percent of that amount in their day. Households headed by those 35 and under had a median net worth just $3,662 in 2009, 68 percent lower than the 1984 figure of $11,521.

Part of the difference is due to a declining home-ownership rate among the younger class, as well as the tumbling housing market’s greater impact on younger households.

The Rising Age Gap in Economic Well-Being [MSNBC via Pew Research Center]

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