The decline in the birth rate and increase in life expectancy are driving this silent change that is advancing while the country looks the other way. The so-called silver economy supports a good part of the growth in Japan and Europe, but in Mexico it still cannot find fertile ground. Here, aging advances without a strategy and with public spending that threatens to overwhelm national finances.
According to Óscar Berumen, general director of Viraal, a firm specialized in financial services for pensioners and retirees, by 2050, 40% of Mexico’s domestic consumption will come from people over 60 years of age. “The challenge is to reach the standards of Japan or Europe, where the silver economy represents 50% and 30% of economic growth, respectively,” he points out.
The Canitas portal, dedicated to the elderly, predicts that by 2050 one in four Mexicans will be an older adult. Mexico City, Veracruz and Morelos already show advanced aging that places them as natural poles of innovation.
This group is not homogeneous. Many own their homes, invest, receive pensions, remittances, continue working or manage their assets. They decide what the family buys, adopt digital tools and become a powerful, underserved and expanding consumer.
Business opportunities flourish on all fronts. In health and well-being, the demand for telemedicine, functional foods and home services is growing. In housing, cohousing is emerging as a new model of active community in destinations such as Chapala, Querétaro or San Miguel de Allende. Senior tourism gains space with accessible and safe experiences, from cultural tours to medical packages.
The survey What do pensioners spend on in Mexico?, presented by Banorte this year, reveals that what this segment of the population spends most of their money on is food (3,947 pesos per month on average), followed by services (2,728 pesos) and health (1,881 pesos). To a lesser extent, their spending goes to transportation and housing.
The study also showed that, if they had additional income, 27% would allocate it to health, 13% to housing and 11% to food.
The opportunity is there and whoever acts first will have the advantage in a market that continues to grow. However, Mexican society does not adjust its pace to change. After turning 50, many face closed doors. For Adriana Valladares, host of the podcast speaking in silverprejudice translates into lost business. “Many marketing areas repeat that only the young audience secures customers for years,” he says.
Valladares, communication and marketing specialist, refutes with data. “There are products that are only consumed in early childhood. The birth rate falls and the children’s market is reduced. At the same time, the spending of households with pets and the universe of older consumers grows. The world already has more people over 65 than children under 10. Companies that do not update their vision leave money on the table. It is short-sighted,” he says.
Although Mexico leads Latin America in the number of companies and organizations dedicated to the silver economy, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) identified only 47 national actors that offer products and services for seniors.
Those over 55 years old represent an attractive segment. According to YouGov Profiles, 58.9% report having a stable financial situation, compared to 50.4% of the general public and 42.8% of young people aged 18 to 24. That stability translates into a greater willingness to spend. Six out of 10 Mexicans over 55 years of age say that they do not mind paying more for good quality products. The figure exceeds that of the rest of the age groups. Everything indicates a robust silver economy ready for those who know how to take care of it.
The business of experience
The silver economy is not only about selling products or services to older adults, but also about opening up space for them to undertake. Berumen explains it clearly: “In Japan, programs were promoted for older adults to start and develop new businesses. In Mexico we must follow that example. People over 60 can also start businesses.”
In the country, the majority of retirees remain active, although they face obstacles in accessing credit or financing. “Less than 10% of pensioners have access to credit, although this figure grows as more institutions enter the silver market,” says the manager.
Your company has proven that this sector is one of the most responsible with its finances. “They take care of their credit because they value it. Their ability to pay is based on a secure income: the pension,” he comments. The challenge, he warns, does not end with access to resources. It is considered essential to combine financial inclusion with technological education and redesign services to adapt them to their conditions. “The great challenge is to create agile, reliable and easy-to-use financial products, accompanied by financial education,” he emphasizes.
Among those who lead the way is Luis Garza Hoth, founder of Gray-haired. At 72 years old, he heads a network that promotes entrepreneurship for people over 50. “When I went to the Ministry of Economy to ask what programs they have for us, they told me ‘all’ and ‘none’. That’s how Entrecanos was born.”
Since then, it organizes awards for senior entrepreneurs and prepares the first Silver Economy Summit in Mexico, scheduled for October 2026 in Guadalajara, with the support of ITESO and Tec de Monterrey, from which it hopes that the roadmap will emerge. But even in that he has faced government disinterest.
Garza Hoth retired in 2015 and decided to create his own job. “At 45 you already retire early. If there is no job, you have to invent one.” Their story is repeated in thousands of Mexicans who seek to reinvent themselves in the face of a system that expels them. “Don’t rate me based on my age, measure my ability,” he asks insistently.
In Mexico, starting a business after age 65 is still an exception. Only 0.4% of business founders belong to this group. Three out of 4 run micro or small businesses with less than 10 employees and annual turnover of less than 20 million pesos. For nine out of 10, their business represents a second source of income or complementary income.
Age, far from being an obstacle, becomes an asset. According to the Entrepreneurship Radiography 2024 of the ASEM (Association of Entrepreneurs of Mexico), 48% of entrepreneurs over 65 years of age identified a business opportunity as the main reason for founding their company, almost double the national average. Their work experience allows them to detect opportunities, reduce risks and respond judiciously to market challenges.
Garza Hoth assures that Mexico could learn from Japan, where retirees advise young entrepreneurs, or from Germany, which is already asking its pensioners to return to work. “We also need young people to take the time to teach us certain digital tools and technologies that allow us to stay active,” he says.
The digital lag remains an obstacle. Six out of 10 adults do not know how to sell online and only 41% use digital management tools, compared to 68% nationally. Closing this gap will be key so that senior entrepreneurship stops being an exception and consolidates itself as a new economic force, warns ASEM.
“There is not enough replacement generation. If we do not integrate the elderly, there will be no hands or income to sustain the country,” warns Garza Hoth. He remembers an image that has haunted him since he saw it on a news broadcast: a teacher in Centla, Tabasco, walked the streets with a loudspeaker to invite children to enroll in her school. There were no students.
