{"id":39520,"date":"2025-09-26T19:04:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/39520\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T19:04:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:04:07","slug":"gen-z-expect-to-inherit-money-assets-but-boomer-parents-dont-plan-on-leaving-anything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/39520\/","title":{"rendered":"Gen Z expect to inherit money, assets\u2014but boomer parents don’t plan on leaving anything"},"content":{"rendered":"

Millennial and Gen Z heirs are eagerly anticipating a $124 trillion \u201cGreat Wealth Transfer<\/a>\u201d as they inherit their parents\u2019 wealth\u2014however, many are set to be disappointed as just one-fifth of baby boomers expect to leave anything behind.<\/p>\n

Financial services company Northwestern Mutual<\/a> surveyed more than\u00a04,500 adults and found only a select few can expect a windfall of cash when their parents pass away.<\/p>\n

Today, more than half of America\u2019s wealth belongs to baby boomers, with most of it tied to their real estate<\/a> as they hold off downsizing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s perhaps why more than half of Gen Zers and nearly 60% of millennials reported that they\u2019re depending on their inheritance to achieve financial security and retire in comfort.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, those sizing up their parents\u2019 (or grandparents\u2019) property and envisioning a relaxed retirement are in for a huge shock: Little over 20% of baby boomers expect to leave an inheritance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that the generation has forgotten about their young loved ones. In fact, 60% do have a will in place\u2014but their children and grandchildren are more likely to find funeral instruction in it than cash or the deed to their family home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because over half of the boomers surveyed are explicitly planning not to leave an inheritance behind. What\u2019s more, only 11% of boomers said leaving something for the kids is their top financial goal.<\/p>\n

Some older generation members spend all their money <\/p>\n

The research didn\u2019t delve into why baby boomers don\u2019t want to pass anything on; however, there\u2019s a growing cohort of people trying to die with zero<\/a>\u2014essentially, enjoy all their wealth while they are still alive and die with $0 in their bank account.<\/p>\n

Some told Fortune that instead of leaving large lump sums behind for the next generation, they\u2019re treating their loved ones to the likes of holidays while they\u2019re still around to witness the joy their money can bring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have money now do good now\u2014don\u2019t wait until you\u2019re dead,\u201d Elena Nu\u00f1ez Cooper, who plans to pay for her friend\u2019s honeymoon and splash out on charitable causes, recently told<\/a> Fortune.<\/p>\n

Others admitted they\u2019re using their hard-earned cash to enjoy life to the fullest, including trips to Mexico and the music festival Glastonbury\u2014rather than take it to the grave after decades of working hard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a shame to see people dying with so much money in a job they\u2019ve worked in that they don\u2019t enjoy, or with people they don\u2019t like,\u201d personal finance coach James Beckett said. \u201cThey go on auto-pilot accumulating wealth and not thinking about what it\u2019s for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, as Northwestern Mutual\u2019s report highlights, the cost of growing old is only going up. In 2020, respondents said they needed $951,000 to retire comfortably\u2014but that figure has surged to $1.46 million, far outpacing inflation.<\/p>\n

While many boomers don\u2019t expect to pass anything onto the next generation, nearly half have plans to address their future health care costs in retirement.<\/p>\n

So, really, much of the Great Wealth Transfer will probably wind up going to hospitals and care homes.<\/p>\n

Young people are dipping into the bank of Mom and Dad now anyway<\/p>\n

Although the majority of Gen Z and millennials probably won\u2019t benefit from the Great Wealth Transfer, a sizable chunk of the generation is already dipping into their inheritance while their parents are still around anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Research shows<\/a> that more than a third of young people who are planning to buy a home expect their parents, or family, to help with their down payment in the form of a cash gift.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, separate data<\/a> shows that millennials are more likely than the generations before them to have dipped into the bank of Mom and Dad to become homeowners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, financially supporting your adult children doesn\u2019t stop at helping them get on the property ladder.<\/p>\n

According to Pew Research Center<\/a>, a third of millennials in their early thirties are still being bankrolled by their parents, who are paying off their everyday expenses and streaming subscriptions.<\/p>\n

A version of this story originally published on Fortune.com<\/a> on September 2, 2024.<\/p>\n

More about the Great Wealth Transfer:<\/p>\n

The $124 trillion Great Wealth Transfer is bigger than ever<\/a>\u2014and millennials will get the biggest cut<\/p>\n

Gen X\u2019s $1.4 trillion windfall: The \u2018Forgotten Generation\u2019 is the surprise short-term winner<\/a> in the Great Wealth Transfer<\/p>\n

Forget the Great Wealth Transfer\u2014Boomers and Gen X are saving the luxury market<\/a> with fancy hotel stays and shopping spreesFortune Global Forum returns Oct. 26\u201327, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and global leaders will gather for a dynamic, invitation-only event shaping the future of business. Apply for an invitation.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Millennial and Gen Z heirs are eagerly anticipating a $124 trillion \u201cGreat Wealth Transfer\u201d as they inherit their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[11143,114,268,4197,85,791,46,19428,266,267,688,1583,32066],"class_list":{"0":"post-39520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-baby-boomers","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-finance","11":"tag-gen-z","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-inheritance","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-millennials","16":"tag-personal-finance","17":"tag-personalfinance","18":"tag-retirement","19":"tag-wealth","20":"tag-wealth-gap"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}