‘My parents inherited when they were young. My generation? We’re just waiting’

In the 1960s, Cypriots lived less than seven decades: 66 years was the average.

By the 1970s, our average life expectancy had risen to 70; in the 1980s, we lived to the age of 75. By the 1990s, we were reaching an average of 77. And at the turn of the century, Cypriots had a life expectancy of 78 years.

Today, we usually make it to 82.5 – 84.7 for women, and 80.4 for men. That’s higher than the European average. Almost a decade more than the world average. And higher than at any point in our island’s history.

But, while it’s wonderful that our yiayias, pappous, and parents are now living to a ripe old age, this does create problems. Not just regarding healthcare, pensions and an ageing workforce, but also in terms of wealth. The cycle of Cyprus’ money, it seems, is stagnating…

Half a century ago, in 1975, the average Cypriot man would complete his national service and go straight into the workforce. He’d work from about the age of 20 to the age of 65 (the pensionable age, unchanged since the introduction of the Social Insurance Scheme in 1957). And then, roughly five years later, he was gone.

Yes, he was probably supporting a family (in 1976, just 30 per cent of women worked). But he owned his own home and land. His children weren’t abroad or at university – they were probably in Cyprus, able to take care of him as he aged. He was unlikely to have a car. And no haircut had wiped thousands off his savings.

Plus, while his salary was considerably less than today, he actually had a much lower cost of living. In 1970, Cyprus’ Consumer Price Index (which measures the cost of essential goods and services) stood at roughly 15. Today, it’s 118 – everything is significantly pricier compared to our current wages.

So, when our representative Cypriot male popped his clogs after seven decades of life, the majority of his wealth – his home, his land, his savings – went directly to his children…

“But in 2025, the population is living much longer,” says Fiona Mullen, Director of Sapienta Economics.

“So even if older parents in Cyprus do help their adult children with a lot of costs, generational wealth is not being passed down as fast as it once was.”

Today, our ‘Perennials’ (the Boomers who once drove economic expansion in the 1980s and 1990s, fuelling mass consumer demand, homeownership and business growth) already own most of what they need. They’re not buying homes, starting families or making big-ticket purchases. Instead, they’re part of a ‘replacement economy’, spending only when necessary.

“In the EU,” Fiona explains, “we see the richest age-group is older than 55-65. They have the most property, savings and the least debt. This phenomenon also exists in Cyprus.

“So you could say that our ageing population is sitting on wealth that’s not re-entering the economy. The cycle has stalled.”

Fiona adds that at the other end of the age scale, younger generations are studying longer, delaying their earning years. “They also have the most debt because they’re dealing with a massive increase in property prices over the last 20 years; often trapped in long-term loans, with much of their income going straight to repayments. And the cost of raising a family has skyrocketed – education, childcare and housing now leave little room for savings or investment.”

This is happening around the world. But more so in any nation with a high life expectancy – such as Cyprus. Which means younger Cypriots now have to work harder to afford less.

“Every month, my salary disappears into rent and bills and food; there’s nothing left to invest in my future,” says 32-year-old Christos Prokopiou. “My parents got their inheritance when they were young enough to use it to build something. My generation? We’re just waiting.”

Christos’ parents put a down payment on their first house in their 20s, and paid off the remaining mortgage when they inherited in their 40s. But since then, property prices have skyrocketed, wages haven’t kept up and generational wealth is stuck.

“My parents tell me to be patient,” says Christos. “And of course I want them to live a long life. But I’ll probably be in my 60s before I inherit!”

Last year, economist and financial analyst Les Manison wrote about this issue in the Cyprus Mail. Since the 1960s, most children in Western countries have become increasingly less wealthy than their parents. And these wealth differences prevail in Cyprus.

According to the European Central Banks’s Household Finance and Consumption Survey, in 2010, those aged 16 to 34 years old had just five per cent of this wealth, and had seen their median income plummet by nearly 30 per cent over the last decade. Meanwhile, those aged between 45 to 64 held over 50 per cent of Cyprus’ net household wealth.

“My parents passed away in the 1990s, when they were about 70,” says 78-year-old Adamos Gregoriou, a retired business owner. “And I inherited from them in my late 40s.”

Adamos used the money to buy rental property and invest in land when it was still cheap, and has been comfortably retired for the last two decades. His children, however, are now mid-50s with kids of their own.

“I paid for my grandchildren’s education, and I gave my kids the deposit for their first homes,” he reveals. “But I hope to live another 10 years, so my kids will inherit everything else when I’m gone.”

This means Adamos’ children could be well into their 60s by the time they inherit any generational wealth. By which time they, too, will be classified as Perennials.

It’s a cycle that’s happening across much of the world. But in Cyprus – where life expectancy is high, wages are low, and property prices have soared – the pattern is even more pronounced.

If it continues, each generation may well have less than the one before.