Lost Generation Finding Itself Putting Degrees To Work

Maybe we are our parents, after all. According to the WSJ, “Older millennials are suddenly closing the wealth gap with their parents” because more “in their 30s are starting to own homes & save more”. In sum, the net worth of households headed by those born in the 1980s was about 11% below what older generations at the same age notched, yet that’s a huge improvement from the 40% gap just 3 years earlier. The conclusion is drawn form new research by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

A key seems to be putting that oft-maligned college education to work. The WSJ notes “researchers worried that student debt & the legacy of the financial crisis might render millennials a “lost generation”, but the truth now appears they’ve “found” themselves. “Those degrees are finally paying off, they’re paying down that debt and entering homeownership & milestones older generations were able to reach earlier on,” said Ana Hernandez Kent, a Fed researcher.

A couple of cautionary notes: Millennial net worth without college degrees is still 19% behind mom & dad, & the net worth of Black millennials actually dropped to a depressing 52% of prior generations. Also, Generation Z or those born in the 1990s were still a troubling 50% below expectations suggesting a “later in life for the good life” pattern is beginning to emerge.

Davd Soul