Study: Millennials financially worse off than Baby Boomers

Whether it’s because of an ever changing global economy or because they play too many video games, it seems millennials are financially worse off than their Baby Boomer parents, says a new report.

According to a new report from the millennial advocacy group Young Invincibles, young people aged 25 to 34 today own and earn far less than their parents’ generation did as young people throughout the 1980s. The study noted that millennials are less financially secure and own half the assets and half the net worth of their parents’ generation.

Here’s a look at the numbers, using data from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors:

– 1989: workers aged 25 to 34 maintained $61,277 in assets and an average net worth of $25,035.
– 2013: workers aged 25 to 34 have $29,350 in assets and an average net worth of $10,900.

“Incomes earned early in one’s career often set the stage for lifetime earnings, with the highest growth occurring in the first decade of work,” the report states. “Entering the job market during an economic downturn, essentially staring on a lower rung on the economic ladder, projects lower earnings for today’s young adults throughout their working lives.”

Ultimately, millennials today earn 20 percent less than the Baby Boomers did as young adults.

“Millennials make up the greatest share of the workforce and the largest generation in history, so in many ways the situation facing young adults today forecasts the financial challenges ahead for the nation,” said Tom Allison, deputy director of policy and research for the millennial advocacy group Young Invincibles, in a statement.

What will Generation Z and their successors look like in the next 25 to 40 years.