Inheritance: Many Hope, Few are Chosen

"The Boomers…are expected to inherit trillions of dollars.” Merrill Anderson’s newsletter clients received that alert back in 2004. As 2020 approaches we hear of another great wave of inheritance. By one estimate, boomers could pass $68 trillion to millennials and others over the next decade.

But these deluges of wealth from generation to generation aren’t orderly. Some boomers are still waiting for their bequests. Many members of the silent generation are still around, including presidential hopefuls Biden, Bloomberg, Sanders and Weld. As of last year, almost 22 million Americans were 75 or older.

Over half of millennials say they expect an inheritance. Most won’t get anything beyond trinkets. According to a United Income study, only about one out of five households receives an inheritance, and that ratio has held steady over 30 years. Only about one in ten receives more than $55,000.

Hoping for a million or more? The chances are maybe one in three hundred.

Even millennials lucky enough to make the inheritance cut may have to wait longer than they expect. From 1989 to 2016, the average age of inheritance rose from 41 to 51, and it seems certain to keep climbing.

The few millennials who inherit millions will become Old Money. Meanwhile, some of their peers are building new wealth. Over 600,000 millennials, mostly in their 30s, are already millionaires.