As researchers from the Brookings Institution, the Harvard Kennedy School, and Johns Hopkins University summarized in late 2018: "Millennials' careers have gotten off to a rocky start because of the financial crisis and Great Recession in 2007-9 and the ensuing slow (but steady) recovery over the subsequent few years. They will be employed in contingent workforce jobs (which have weaker retirement benefits than traditional jobs) to a greater extent than previous generations. They will be required to manage and navigate their own retirement plans to a greater extent than previous generations, while also likely having longer lifespans. They face an economic future with projections of lower rates of return and economic growth than in the past." As a result, by a variety of measures, Millennials are behind where other generations were in saving for retirement. When Baby Boomers were the same age as Millennials, they held 21% of the nation’s wealth. Millennials own a meager 5%. And while about 45% of Boomers and Gen-Xers participated in a workplace retirement plan at age 31, just 33% of Millennials did. Moreover, almost half of Millennial households aged 25-35 have student debt. Will Millennials ever be able to retire? - Big Think So looks like they have to retire later with less wealth, and live longer like that.
related thread: Desperate: 9 Million Millennials Moved Back In With Their Parents This Year - posted Dec 9, 2022 by Zorro in Current Events section 9 Million Millennials Moved Back In With Their Parents This Year About 15% of millennial renters say that they’re spending more than half their after-tax income on rent. 50.9% of millennials who moved back home said it was to save money, 39.3% said because they couldn't afford rent, in survey only 21.4% because they lost their job As Bloomberg's Alex Tanzi writes, about one in four millennials are living with their parents. A September 2020 survey by Pew found that for the first time since the Great Depression, a majority of Americans aged between 18 and 29 were living with their parents.
related threads: Shocking historical statistics, "lost generations" Housing shortage spreads to Midwest and South , New York Times complains about lack of affordable "starter homes" Median income for Millennials across the U.S. - this may surprise you Millennials' Chronic Health Problems Will Limit Their Lifetime Earnings Homeless Millennials - posted May 20, 2019 in Economics & Trade section
Well, I guess that the millennials still have their parent's house to move back into. For now! But we're running out of time before those parents pass on and that is no longer an option. We're running out of decades. When time runs out and millennials can't afford to live anymore then the revolution will really begin. (Too bad it won't fix anything.)
Not every Millennial has that option. Some Millennials have been kicked out by their parents. Other times the parents do not like them and do not want them to live with them. Some parents suffer from borderline mental illness or severe emotional problems. It can be difficult for the child to continue to live with them. Imagine a parent who loves their child but periodically suffers fits of rage, throws things at the child, calls the police, kicks their child out of the house for the night while angry. One thing that frequently happens is the father may be divorced from the original mother and be married to a new woman, who does not like the children. So the father often gives into the pressure, choosing his new wife over his children, and puts pressure on the children not to live with him. Some Millennials only have one parent who is still in their life. Some people do not have any parents. Maybe their dad left when they were a small child and their mother died an early death. Years ago I had a roommate, a young adult, who was unable to live with his mom because she was poor and renting a room in someone else's house. It's more common now for children to grow up in single parent households.
There are 72+ million of them, so if 9 million move out and 9 million move back in it not such big news. Places like Florida are indeed becoming too expensive to rent, or own, so there is that. Some Millenials are 40+ yrs old, so its time to talk about them as they were kids.
Millennials Aren’t As Strong As They Think They Are. “Millennials are in fact weaker than their parents. Gen Z is likely even weaker.” Grip strength among men 20-34 has dropped 22% from what it was in the 1980s. Millennials might be screwed as the title suggests. IQ has also been dropping 5-7 points a decade with the first such drop noted in 2006. This hasn't happened in a hundred years. By 2026 the next group reaching adulthood will have IQ scores 15-20 points lower than their Gen Z parents and grip strength that is substantially less. I'm not gloating, I'm concerned. I think they should probably put down their tech and go rock climbing, or run some mountain trails with some friends.
I've been retired 16 years, the feds load up my pension account every month with 5 figure deposits. Plus the wife has a pension and collects SS. You millennials will probably have it better than us boomers. Best of luck.
Retiring at age 65 always sounded unsustainable to me, particularly if people start living longer. The economy is also an increasingly unfavorable place for a middle class. I think a better basic model is for families to care for the old with the government filling gaps. Retirement savings are nice, but not realistic for many. Speaking for myself I tend not to spend much and live far below my means, but those who spend do help keep the economy going, so maybe a better model could let them do that and have families be responsible for each other. I dunno, is retirement really that great? It seems like the transition is hard on a lot of people. Working less makes more sense to me than not working unless one is truly incapable health wise.
