The European Union strategy EUROPE 2020 declares a target of at least 40% of 30-34 year-olds completing third level education. This is just a declaration of a broader trend, when all the most developed countries are increasing their access to higher education (HE). This movement is most often supported by the necessity to increase the supply of educated and thus skilled workforce in order to satisfy the increasing demand for more complex and sophisticated labour. Another point which is often drawn is that HE expansion increases chances for social mobility. Consequently, the expansion of HE became an international trend. Some countries entered this path earlier than others and also their pace in achieving this differs. Due to existing lifecycle patterns the expansion of higher education in the Nineties is consequently increasing the inequality in higher education attainment between generations in the beginning of 21st Century. This trend is especially visible when looking at formal education, particularly formal tertiary education. Tertiary education is mostly gained in young age. The proportion of tertiary education students over 40 years old is increasing but still remains marginal (apx. 4,5% for the EU 27). For this reason, a sharp increase in tertiary education enrolment will increase intergenerational educational attainment differences, caused by different availability of tertiary education for different age cohorts in the time they were in the age usual to enrol into tertiary education.
The starting point of this analysis is presented by the current reality of middle European post socialist countries, such as Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. These are countries with one of the highest increase in tertiary education accessibility in last 20 years. On the other hand, central planning before 1989 held the accessibility of tertiary education down, because of ideological reasons. This has increased existing differences in tertiary education accessibility between generations.
In contrast to the experience of these countries, we can put the experience of Germany or Spain where only a marginal tertiary education expansion can be observed. Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands present countries where tertiary education expansion of a comparable extend started a little earlier.
Due to demographic waving, in Europe linked with the end of the World War 2, contemporary labour markets in these three countries employ two extensive demographic waves. We can speak about two generations. One is shortly before retirement and the second has just entered the productive age. Proposed article tries to link the experience of selected countries with the dynamics of private returns to education of different generations in the productive age.
The question is, whether tertiary education expansion has affected private returns to education of individuals under 45 years old, for who, due to the expansion, tertiary education was more available. We ask: what are the differences in private returns to education between individuals under and over 45 years old, and what trend can be observed in this respect.

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