Boomers Will Not Inherit The World

It has been claimed by some that the baby boomers will be inheriting large sums that they will then invest in real estate. However, this is not likely as pointed out in an article in the New York Times today. The median inheritance for all heirs in the U. S. in the last two years was about $29,000, and it seems that the median for boomers will be only $19,000. So splurging on a new car is more likely than a new house.

Not only will most baby boomers not inherit much, most of them are terribly under-funded for their own retirement needs. This means that most boomers will be short of income when they retire, and will not be a source of extraordinary buyer demand at that time.

Supply and demand has generally worked against the average boomer. Because there are so many of them, the large boomer generation has overloaded the system every step of the way. This has also meant that they generally had to compete in an overcrowded job market – there were always too many applicants for the next job desired by a boomer. It is not surprising then that so many are falling behind. Combine that with a “consume it now” culture and attitude and you get skimpy savings accounts.

Boomers now occupy the age bracket where incomes and consumption reach their peak, and many are indeed very affluent and spending like there is no tomorrow. But most boomers have largely missed the affluence boat – they continue to muddle along in the crowd.