At the same time as we have seen decreases in income, wealth and home ownership for younger cohorts when measured at the same age. Its just a transfer of wealth from young to old.
Philosophically, even if there is no greater effect than transfer of wealth from young to old, pretty much everyone who is now young will one day be old.
"Among the savage nations of hunters and fishers, every individual who is able to work is more or less employed in useful labour, and endeavours to provide, as well as he can, the necessaries and conveniencies of life, for himself, and such of his family or tribe as are either too old, or too young, or too infirm, to go a-hunting and fishing. Such nations, however, are so miserably poor, that, from mere want, they are frequently reduced, or at least think themselves reduced, to the necessity sometimes of directly destroying, and sometimes of abandoning their infants, their old people, and those afflicted with lingering diseases, to perish with hunger, or to be devoured by wild beasts. Among civilized and thriving nations, on the contrary, though a great number of people do not labour at all, many of whom consume the produce of ten times, frequently of a hundred times, more labour than the greater part of those who work; yet the produce of the whole labour of the society is so great, that all are often abundantly supplied; and a workman, even of the lowest and poorest order, if he is frugal and industrious, may enjoy a greater share of the necessaries and conveniencies of life than it is possible for any savage to acquire." [0]
[0] Adam Smith, "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations", intro.
What we have done is voted in politicians who have promised us SS pensions, but not actually funded those pensions. Instead the debt is going to fall upon young adults who were kids/unborn when said promises were made.
Yes, everyone gets old. That doesn't entitle us to puts debts on people who had no say in the matter. It's really not much different from me borrowing money and promising my child's future earnings to pay it off.
Previously, elderly people would move into small houses in small towns, or into apartments, in order to free up capital and lower ongoing costs.
Social security has reduced poverty in every age group.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security-keeps-22-milli...
Also if you want to go even further, you should redistribute from 40-60 to 0-25 and 65+ to enable people to properly raise children and the like.