4 ms·

average millennials net worth is only $8K (group aged 18-35 today) so this is not surprising to me. in 20-25 years, when millennials approach retirement age -

by readhn 7y ago

average millennials net worth is only $8K (group aged 18-35 today) so this is not surprising to me. in 20-25 years, when millennials approach retirement age - its not going to look pretty for the economy.

malandrew 7y ago
It’s only not going to be pretty if you don’t take into account 30-40 years of technological advances. Healthcare advances and food science advances will both usher in higher quality that is more accessible at lower prices. Advances in energy show make energy cheaper. Eventually the boomers will die, putting lots of housing on the market making it available to millennials. Between that you’ve got most major costs addressed, housing, healthcare, food and utilities. Retirement may not be achievable at 65 anymore but they are going to be hitting 65 much healthier than any prior generation so working past 65 won’t be the same burden as it was for someone who did hard physical labor their entire lives. They are literally going to be the generation that has had it easiest, but they are going to feel like they’ve had it hardest. The biggest problem isn’t savings but the fact that so many eschew the type of labor necessary to maintain the infrastructure they are inheriting. Without plumbers, electricians and other technical trades, much of the infrastructure they inherit may have greatly deteriorated due to long overdue deferred maintenance.
- readhn 7y ago
  Its hard to start families with 8K in savings. This is a major blow for the economy that is consumption based. If people have very little saved and have little assetts by the time they retire - im afraid this is bad news for years 2040-2065. Not that far away...
- pnutjam 7y ago
  Sounds like a load of horseshit, but I guess it makes you feel better.
- Qwertystop 7y ago
  Healthcare advances in the _past_ few decades have gone hand-in-hand with healthcare _costs_ rising much faster than inflation, at least in the US. Better medicine you can't afford doesn't help much.
prostoalex 7y ago
What’s the source on that? Every now and then there are headlines like this https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/1-in-6-millennials-have-100000-heres-how-much-you-should-have-saved.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/1-in-6-millennials-have-1000... so it’s hard to get a good idea of the big picture. Is it one of those scenarios where there’s decent income, but wealth transfers to university administration in the form of the student loans offsets any of the gains?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
convivialdingo 7y ago
It’s likely this story from a few days ago. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/05/31/millennials-have-an-average-net-worth-thats-significantly-less-than-previous-generations/?noredirect=on https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/05/31/millennia...

by readhn 7y ago

malandrew 7y ago

It’s only not going to be pretty if you don’t take into account 30-40 years of technological advances. Healthcare advances and food science advances will both usher in higher quality that is more accessible at lower prices. Advances in energy show make energy cheaper. Eventually the boomers will die, putting lots of housing on the market making it available to millennials. Between that you’ve got most major costs addressed, housing, healthcare, food and utilities. Retirement may not be achievable at 65 anymore but they are going to be hitting 65 much healthier than any prior generation so working past 65 won’t be the same burden as it was for someone who did hard physical labor their entire lives. They are literally going to be the generation that has had it easiest, but they are going to feel like they’ve had it hardest. The biggest problem isn’t savings but the fact that so many eschew the type of labor necessary to maintain the infrastructure they are inheriting. Without plumbers, electricians and other technical trades, much of the infrastructure they inherit may have greatly deteriorated due to long overdue deferred maintenance.

readhn 7y ago
Its hard to start families with 8K in savings. This is a major blow for the economy that is consumption based. If people have very little saved and have little assetts by the time they retire - im afraid this is bad news for years 2040-2065. Not that far away...
pnutjam 7y ago
Sounds like a load of horseshit, but I guess it makes you feel better.
Qwertystop 7y ago
Healthcare advances in the _past_ few decades have gone hand-in-hand with healthcare _costs_ rising much faster than inflation, at least in the US. Better medicine you can't afford doesn't help much.

prostoalex 7y ago

What’s the source on that? Every now and then there are headlines like this https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/1-in-6-millennials-have-100000-heres-how-much-you-should-have-saved.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/1-in-6-millennials-have-1000... so it’s hard to get a good idea of the big picture. Is it one of those scenarios where there’s decent income, but wealth transfers to university administration in the form of the student loans offsets any of the gains?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

convivialdingo 7y ago

It’s likely this story from a few days ago. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/05/31/millennials-have-an-average-net-worth-thats-significantly-less-than-previous-generations/?noredirect=on https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/05/31/millennia...