Nearly half of U.S. adults say they\u2019re still financially dependent on the bank of mom and dad, according to a Northwestern Mutual study \u2014 findings that the company\u2019s chief strategy officer Jeff Sippel called \u201ca massive wake-up call for America (1).\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2026 Planning & Progress Study found that 42% of adults lean on parents for financial support \u2014 with 72% of Gen Z and 53% of Millennials topping the list (1).<\/p>\n
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The study also noted that one in five adults said they don\u2019t ever expect to become financially independent of their parents, while those counting on a large inheritance tied to the Great Wealth Transfer may receive a far smaller purse than expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe \u2018Great Wealth Transfer\u2019 is real, but an inheritance isn\u2019t something most Americans can rely on,\u201d Sippel said in the news release.<\/p>\n
But financial therapist and author Lindsay Bryan-Podvin told Moneywise that instead of focusing on why these generations need their parents for financial support, \u201cit\u2019s worth exploring the external factors that have made it difficult\u201d to become financially independent.<\/p>\n
She pointed to a higher cost of living, including groceries and rent, as well as the fact that a college degree doesn\u2019t ensure the financial stability that it once did, among other factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cMillennials and Gen Z,\u201d she added, \u201care facing a completely different financial landscape than their parents and grandparents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why the Great Wealth Transfer isn\u2019t the answer <\/p>\n
To Bryan-Podvin\u2019s point, the larger economic picture can make financial independence seem even more out of reach.<\/p>\n
A new report from Edward Jones, for example, showed that only 16% of Americans overall feel \u201cfinancially fulfilled,\u201d while 51% reported feeling financially \u201cconflicted\u201d and 32% reported being \u201cstressed (2).\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than half of Americans are financially \u2018conflicted,\u2019 meaning they\u2019re getting by, but don\u2019t feel secure,\u201d David Gunn, Principal and Head of the U.S. and Canada Business Units at Edward Jones, told Moneywise. \u201cIt comes down to three things: a lack of confidence, vulnerability to unexpected expenses and the feeling that money is controlling your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not surprising given that the average cost of rent in the U.S. skyrocketed by 50% in the last decade, while health and childcare rose by 40%, according to the Urban Institute (3). In the same timeframe, they noted, the 38% growth in median weekly earnings failed to keep pace.<\/p>\n
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Even in the last year, the Consumer Price Index rose 4.2%. Food costs were up 3% for and the energy index rose 23.5% (4).<\/p>\n
And those enduring the higher cost of living while waiting for their share of $124 trillion in the Great Wealth Transfer (GWT) may need a new back-up plan (5).<\/p>\n
Just 31% of Americans expect to leave an inheritance \u2014 while 57% of those waiting to receive one say it\u2019s \u201ccritical\u201d to their financial security (6), per the Northwestern Mutual study. That\u2019s even higher for Gen Z and millennials, at 63% and 69%. The non-profit CFA Institute, however, noted that the bulk of the wealth transferred in the GWT \u201cwill be highly concentrated among a minority of the population (7).\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because, they noted, 1% of the population hold 25% of the assets to be transferred, while 20% holds 80% of the wealth changing hands. As such, labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci warned that \u201cafter discounting the wealthiest 10% of Americans, the median inheritance of the remaining 90% is close to zero.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even pre-Great Wealth Transfer, the Federal Reserve found that the average inheritance totaled just $46,200 (8), with the bottom 50% of the population only pulling in $9,700.<\/p>\n
As people live longer, any inheritances may also be used for living and health expenses before whatever is left is eventually passed down. And with the GWT expected to last through 2048 (5), the oldest Millennials would be 67 and the oldest Gen Zers 51 before they receive an inheritance \u2014 leaving little time to invest and build on it in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n
Read More: About 1 in 5 Americans over 50 has zero retirement savings \u2014 here’s the catch-up plan you can actually use<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n How to plan for financial independence <\/p>\n Despite their current parental reliance, the Northwestern Mutual study found that 82% of Gen Zers who are currently financially dependent feel confident they\u2019ll achieve independence one day. Fewer millennials and Gen Xers felt that way, at 56% and 51%, respectively (33% of Gen Xers said they were still financially dependent).<\/p>\n Gunn told Moneywise that \u201cMost Americans are actually closer than they realize\u201d to financial independence, but that getting there \u201cdoes require consistency \u2014 things like budgeting, building savings and reducing debt.\u201d<\/p>\n Bryan-Podvin notes that employing automatic savings tools, eliminating unnecessary expenses, splitting the cost of necessities like housing with a friend or relative, and taking up small side-gigs such as dog-walking or tutoring could help build funds that lead to financial independence.<\/p>\n But she also suggests considering what, exactly, financial independence means to you: \u201cMaybe it\u2019s not owning a three-bed, two-bath home in the suburbs, but owning something smaller that\u2019s closer to a city.\u201d<\/p>\n From there, she says, figure out what you need to reach your next desired financial milestone \u2014 be it improving a credit score or shifting some spending money to savings \u2014 and then work toward it.<\/p>\n She also, however, stresses the importance of having others in your life with whom you can talk about money.<\/p>\n \u201cStriving toward a financial goal can feel incredibly isolating,\u201d she added, \u201cso make sure [you] have friends, online or in real life, who can provide support along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n You May Also Like <\/p>\n Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise\u2019s best stories and exclusive interviews first \u2014 clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Article Sources <\/p>\n We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n Northwestern Mutual (1<\/a>), (6<\/a>); Edward Jones (2<\/a>); The Urban Institute (3<\/a>); Bureau of Labor Statistics (4<\/a>); Cerulli Associates (5<\/a>); CFA Institute (7<\/a>); U.S. Federal Reserve (8<\/a>)<\/p>\n This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com<\/a> under the title: Millennials and Gen Z face a challenging ‘financial landscape\u2019 \u2013 as 42% of adults still rely on parents for money<\/a><\/p>\n This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly half of U.S. adults say they\u2019re still financially dependent on the bank of mom and dad, according…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1024493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3093],"tags":[51,123927,474,110068,147303,3303,283154,283155,14200,254565,142814,2499,16483,16,15,7356],"class_list":["post-1024492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-edward-jones","tag-finance","tag-financial-support","tag-financially-independent","tag-inheritance","tag-jeff-sippel","tag-lindsay-bryan-podvin","tag-millennials","tag-moneywise","tag-northwestern-mutual","tag-personal-finance","tag-robert-kiyosaki","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-wealth-transfer"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1024492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1024492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1024492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1024493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1024492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1024492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1024492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}