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Don't get up your hopes for the Great Wealth Transfer
USA Today • • business
Key Points:
- A new Visa Business and Economic Insights report estimates that out of $93 trillion in boomer assets, only about $36 trillion will actually transfer to Gen X and millennial heirs over the next 20 years after accounting for debts, retirement spending, taxes, and charitable giving.
- Boomers carry over $4 trillion in debt, and nearly one-third of their wealth is concentrated in the top 1%, much of which is expected to go to charitable foundations rather than heirs.
- Most of the inherited wealth will go to heirs already in the top 10% of affluence, who are likely to save or invest rather than spend it, resulting in about $8 trillion of consumer spending from the transfer.
- Despite concerns about the Great Wealth Transfer, younger generations, especially Gen X and millennials, currently have higher inflation-adjusted net worth per capita than boomers did at the same age, partly due to access to 401(k) retirement plans.
