The Experience Cliff: Is Financial Services Cutting The People It Needs Most?
When organisations restructure, who goes first? Increasingly, it's the people with the most experience. And financial marketing and communications is no exception.
Financial Narrative's 2026 Salary Survey found that professionals aged 55 and over were six times more likely to be made redundant than their 35-54 year old peers. More than one in five changed jobs in 2025, compared to just 4% of mid-career professionals. And nearly half are still considering a move in 2026.
This pattern extends well beyond our industry. An AARP survey published in January found that age bias remains a persistent challenge for workers 50 and older, with many reporting assumptions that they are less tech-savvy (33%) or resistant to change (24%). In financial services specifically, 49,000 jobs were lost in 2025, with reductions often concentrated in higher-paying roles usually held by workers over 50. And a March 2026 lawsuit against Meta alleges that workers over 40 faced significantly higher termination rates during layoffs, suggesting this is a cross-industry issue gaining legal scrutiny.
The Salary Survey adds another layer. Compensation for financial marcomms professionals peaks at 21-25 years of experience, then drops sharply. In the US, average salary falls from $247k to $212k beyond the 25-year mark. In the UK, it's steeper: £179k to £128k. Bonuses follow the same trajectory. The industry's most experienced professionals are simultaneously the most likely to be made redundant and the least well compensated relative to their slightly less tenured peers.
During a panel discussion marking the release of the survey, the findings prompted a candid exchange among recruiters and industry leaders.
Sarah Leembruggen of The Works Search described a pattern she saw repeatedly in 2025: "A director of corporate affairs would leave, and they would always be replaced by one rung down. Every single brief we took. It was extraordinary." The positions were framed as growth opportunities for the incoming hire, but the driver was clear: cost savings.
Susan Goodwin Thomas of Heyman Associates pushed back on the idea that this is purely about age: "I think it's actually more about expensive compensation than it is anything to do with age." But she acknowledged what gets lost in the process: "You're losing exceptional thinking skills, interpersonal skills, developed intuition, the ability to speak truth to power."
Jack Cody of Opinium, who presented the data, called it "a little bit disconcerting," noting that compensation doesn't just plateau after 25 years: "It falls off a cliff."
The panel also raised a pointed irony. At a time when organisations say they need people who can exercise judgment, manage change, and navigate complexity, those are exactly the capabilities being cut. As Alyssa Gilmore of Bloomberg put it: "Aren't those the very things that they say it's critical to retain because AI can't do those things?"
For leaders building and managing financial marcomms teams, the data raises uncomfortable questions. If experienced professionals are being pushed out at disproportionate rates, replaced by cheaper hires one rung down, and seeing their compensation decline past a certain threshold, what message does that send to mid-career professionals watching from below? Leembruggen saw the effect clearly: "For other people considering applying and searching for promotion to the next tier up, to see how exposed and then how abruptly the organization just cuts it, what are they gonna do?"
The experience cliff isn't just a problem for the people falling off it. It's a signal to everyone else about how their organisation values loyalty and tenure.
The full 2026 Salary Survey report is available for Financial Narrative members.
Click here to download the report
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