adminA national survey conducted soon after the 2016 presidential elections revealed a stark difference between millennials and older generations with regards to how each group views their overall personal financial security, as well as the U.S. economy in the coming year.
The Country Financial Security Index examines Americans’ attitudes toward their overall level of personal financial security on a scale of 0-100. It also measures Americans’ confidence level in a variety of individual personal finance topics such as their ability to pay back debts, set-aside money for savings or investments, and retire comfortably, among others. Recent survey findings include the following:
- Millennials reported feeling 24 percent better off vs. 41 percent worse off
- Gen X reported feeling 34 percent better off vs. 31 percent worse off
- Baby Boomers feeling 33 percent better off vs. 27 percent worse off
- Silent Generation feeling 45 percent better off vs. 17 percent worse off
This uneasy sentiment among millennials is further exemplified across a range of questions on topics, including:
- Overall financial security: 59 percent of millennials surveyed rated their overall level of financial security “fair” or “poor” compared to 37 percent reporting “excellent” or “good.”
- Savings or investments: Nearly half of millennial respondents (48 percent) reported not being able to set aside any money for savings or investments, while 42 percent of millennials reported that they have set money aside.
- Ability to pay debts: 29 percent of millennial respondents were not confident they would be able to pay their debts as they came due, compared with 38 percent of millennials who were “very confident” and 32 percent who were “somewhat confident” that they could.
Read more at Sys-Com for additional survey findings.
