Nearly One in Four Millennials Saving for the Future Has at Least $100,000 Stocked Away, but Many Still Feel Financially Behind
31 January 2020 - 1:00AM
Business Wire
Millennials Are Caught in a Balancing Act and
Making Trade-offs as They Juggle High Debt With Long-Term Goals
Millennials (ages 24-41) are saving more for their futures than
ever before, according to the Bank of America Better Money Habits®
Millennial Report released today. One in four who are saving has
stocked away at least $100,000 – up from 16 percent in 2018.
However, despite financial successes, more than half of all
millennials say they feel behind financially compared to where they
thought they would be, and another 33 percent feel financially
behind their peers.
When it comes to saving and financial habits, millennials are
“getting it right”
- Seventy-three percent are saving for life milestones and future
goals, a 10 percentage point increase compared to 2018.
Three-quarters are saving for retirement, while 51 percent are
building an emergency fund and 42 percent are saving to
travel.
- On average, millennials saving for retirement started building
their nest egg at age 24 – earlier than Gen X (30 years old) and
baby boomers (33 years old).
- Over the past year, 39 percent of millennials boosted their
credit score, 29 percent secured a raise and 24 percent put away
more toward retirement.
- Seventy-three percent would rather live a more frugal lifestyle
to plan for the future than “live for today” and spend money when
and how they want.
“Whether age 24 or 41, millennials are facing a difficult
financial balancing act as they juggle near-term priorities and
future goals,” said Andrew Plepler, global head of Environmental,
Social and Governance at Bank of America. “Older millennials are
more secure when it comes to their savings, but many others across
this broad age-range still struggle to save at all. Debt remains a
pressing challenge with competing pressures making it hard for
people to feel financially secure. No matter their life stage or
savings level, our Better Money Habits platform arms all
millennials with resources and guidance to help navigate competing
priorities and reach their financial goals.”
Perception vs. reality: Despite financial successes,
millennials still think they’re falling behind
- Fifty-one percent say they feel behind in their overall
financial situation. This includes 39 percent with household
incomes of $100,000 or more.
- Forty-three percent feel their peers are further ahead in their
careers and are making more money.
- Seventy-three percent are not optimistic about their financial
future, and 33 percent worry often about their finances, up from 25
percent in 2018.
- To feel financially secure, 26 percent say they need $1 million
or more – which jumps to 36 percent for millennials with household
incomes of $100,000 or more.
Balancing it all: Millennials are juggling competing
financial priorities and making trade-offs
While they confront substantial debt levels, millennials are
also financially preparing for “next chapter” goals – such as
starting a family, buying a home and saving for the future.
- Seventy-six percent of millennials carry debt of some kind,
including credit card debt (37 percent) and student loans (25
percent). Excluding home loans, one in six owes $50,000 or
more.
- Seventy-six percent of millennials carrying debt say they can’t
achieve their personal and financial goals because of it, including
buying a first or nicer home (42 percent), saving for the future
(40 percent) and starting or growing a family (21 percent).
- Ninety percent are willing to make sacrifices to achieve a
financial goal, including cutting back on dining out (70 percent),
eliminating vacations (35 percent) and downsizing their home (21
percent).
- Fifty-seven percent would rather stay in a less desirable job
with a higher salary instead of taking a more desirable job with a
lower salary. Fifty-two percent would rather work harder today and
retire early, instead of working longer and having more free time
now.
While millennials are practicing better money habits, they
continue to seek advice and guidance as they look to take control
of their finances and plan their financial futures. Bank of
America’s Better Money Habits platform connects people at all life
stages to relevant tools and resources that help build know-how
about topics such as budgeting and saving, homeownership, reducing
debt, and retirement so people can learn and take action. Better
Money Habits also empowers people to evaluate their life
priorities, such as family, health and home, to help determine how
they should approach their finances.
In addition to offering online resources, Better Money Habits
remains dedicated to convening open, honest conversations about
money management. Last September, in partnership with BuzzFeed,
Better Money Habits convened 50 young adults navigating their
financial paths for a Financial Wellness Retreat in Miami, Florida,
enabling them to identify their financial goals and the steps to
reach them, while they shared their financial stories with their
peers.
Report methodology
Bank of America commissioned a survey of 1,903 respondents, ages
18-73 years old, to explore their views on personal financial
matters. For the purposes of this report, millennials were defined
as ages 24-41, Generation X as ages 42-54 and baby boomers as ages
55-73. The survey was conducted online in English and Spanish
September 12-22, 2019, using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel®, a
probability-based online panel designed to be representative of the
U.S. population. Panelists are recruited into this invitation-only
panel via postal mailings to a random selection of residential
addresses. To ensure that non-internet households are included,
Ipsos provides a tablet and ISP connection to those who need them.
Because of this probability-based sampling approach, KnowledgePanel
findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and
projected to the general population. The margin of sampling error
for national data is +/- 2.6 percentage points at the 95 percent
confidence level.
Note: Millennials were defined as ages 18 to 34 in the 2014 and
2015 reports, and as ages 23 to 37 in the 2017 and 2018
reports.
Better Money Habits®
At Bank of America, we’re committed to helping people lead
better financial lives by equipping them with the skills, knowledge
and confidence to succeed. That’s why we created Better Money
Habits, a financial education platform of tools and information
that helps people make sense of their money and take action to
improve. As a cornerstone of Better Money Habits, we offer free
financial education content and tools that break down financial
topics in a way that’s digestible, approachable and tailored. We
continually look for ways to expand the reach of Better Money
Habits and also offer Spanish language resources on the site.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial
institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market
businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking,
investing, asset management and other financial and risk management
products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience
in the United States, serving approximately 66 million consumer and
small business clients with approximately 4,300 retail financial
centers, including approximately 2,800 lending centers, 2,600
financial centers with a Consumer Investment Financial Solutions
Advisor and 2,000 business centers; approximately 16,800 ATMs; and
award winning digital banking with approximately 38 million active
users, including approximately 29 million mobile users. Bank of
America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and
investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset
classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and
individuals around the world. Bank of America offers
industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business
owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products
and services. The company serves clients through operations across
the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries.
Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New
York Stock Exchange.
For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements
and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom
and register for news email alerts.
www.bankofamerica.com
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC© 2020 Bank of America
Corporation.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200130005022/en/
Vanessa Cook, Bank of America, 980.683.2247
vanessa.cook@bofa.com
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024