Gen Z Is Making Strides

Interestingly, the age of “feeling” like an adult—age 27—coincides with the age when people started taking finances seriously—around age 28. That said, the older generations admit they wished they’d taken their finances more seriously in their 20s (76%).

And while the oldest of Gen Z is just reaching that age of “adulting,” they are actually on the same page with the older generations with the top three pieces of financial advice they’d share. Here’s the consensus across generations: Start saving early (64%); create a budget (46%) and start building credit as soon as you can (41%).

Gen Z is also ahead of the financial curve, as many are paying their own bills, getting credit cards, learning how to budget and opening savings accounts around age 22—younger than any of the other generations. However, half of Gen Z admit that they have not started contributing to a retirement plan.

So, what financial “adulting” moves does Gen Z feel they cannot afford? Buying a home or apartment tops the list (47%), along with having kids (39%). Plus, more than half (56%) say they have more financial responsibility than they can handle.

Being Financially Prepared

When it comes to working with a financial professional, the average age when they first started was 30, but keep in mind that more than half (56%) say they have never taken this step.

There is good news regarding retirement savings: with each generation, the average age when people started contributing to a retirement plan keeps getting younger, giving them a longer time to save and invest. The same can be said for life insurance. The younger generations are purchasing their first policy earlier than previous ones. In addition, four in 10 agree that getting life insurance “makes you an adult,” with more than half of Gen Z saying so (53%).

Reaching the LGBTQ+ Community

This year the study focused on better understanding the LGBTQ+ community and found that the life insurance need gap (46%) is greater than for the population in general (42%). This means there is an awareness among those who don’t own it that they need it, as well as those who do own it and recognize that they need more. This is true of other minority communities the study has delved into in years past. The need gap in 2024 for Black Americans is 49% and Hispanics 53%, well above the average.

When looking at general financial concerns, they were more elevated across the board for the LGBTQ+ community than for Americans in general. This includes top concerns like money for a comfortable retirement (52%) and being able to save for an emergency fund (47%), as well as job security/steady income (39%), which was above the general population (30%). However, those in the LGBTQ+ community with life insurance express less financial concern (56%) than those who don’t own it (41%). This is in keeping with the general population. Those who own life insurance feel more financially secure (62%) than those who don’t own it (46%).

Interestingly, when asked if they felt potential discrimination when buying life insurance, the answer was the same as everyone else (5%). However, when asked if “life insurance companies prioritize fairness and equality in their practices,” only 28% said they agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.

A Generational Shift

The “Middle Years” may bring life events such as marriage, raising children, buying a home, etc. The study has found that Gen X is no longer the most worried about finances; Millennials are. It appears a generational shift is underway that may be precipitated by societal changes, such as getting married and having children later than previous generations.

Millennials’ financial worries top all generations, including having enough money for retirement (54%), being able to support themselves if they couldn’t work due to a disabling illness or injury (45%), and paying for long-term care services (40%).

These issues can be addressed in part or in whole with insurance-based solutions. And yet, one of the things that can bring them most financial peace of mind—life insurance—is something that fewer Millennials own it (48%) than their older Gen X counterparts (56%). This may be exacerbated by the fact that almost half (47%) admit that they took a wild guess or used a gut feeling to estimate the cost.

Combination Products

An area that appears to be growing in popularity with the public is combination products, specifically in this study, life insurance with long-term care benefits.

The study first asked about combination products in 2016, and interest has grown. This year, almost seven in 10 adults of all ages say that if they were in the market for life insurance, they would be “somewhat” likely to buy a combination product (41%) to “very” or “extremely” likely (28%) to help them to address the need for life insurance and long-term care. A key reason they give is the concern about long-term care services depleting their savings (36%).

And this is good news, as more than a third are worried about paying for long-term care—and this concern weighs on the younger Millennials (39%) as well as Gen Xers (37%). Overall, six in 10 say they need long-term care coverage, yet only 18% say they own it.