Boomers' Billion-Dollar Bonanza: The Unseen Hoarding Behind Millennial Struggles

[Anonymous]

https://fortune.com/2023/10/28/great-wealth-transfer-baby-boomers-bank-of-america-millennials-government-policy/amp/

Wow, I just came across this shocking article from Fortune which reveals that the so-called "great wealth transfer" is not the $72 trillion we've been hearing about, but rather a whopping $129 trillion. And guess where most of it went? Yup, straight into the pockets of baby boomers, thanks to government policies over the last 40 years.

We've all heard about the economic challenges millennials face today, especially with the housing market and student debts. But to think that the government has been so instrumental in enriching an entire generation, predominantly boomers, is mind-blowing! This massive wealth transfer is arguably a result of policies from when boomers were in their prime working years. The research shows that two-thirds of the current U.S. household net worth (around $146 trillion) is held by boomers and "traditionalists."

What's even more shocking is that while millennials struggle with high-interest rates on mortgages, most boomers were able to lock in at a low 3% rate. We often hear about boomers giving financial advice to younger generations, but it's evident they had a huge leg up due to these policies.

It's time for a change. Millennials and Gen Z are battling a completely different economic landscape, one that has been significantly shaped by previous generations. While there's hope that a pending wealth transfer might offer some relief, current projections don't seem as promising as what boomers enjoyed.

Thoughts? How do we bridge this generational wealth gap? It's evident now more than ever that we need a system that supports all generations equitably.

[Anonymous]

Transferred from where to where?

Weren't mortgage rates 2% like 2 years ago?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Transferred from where to where?

Weren't mortgage rates 2% like 2 years ago?

Yes. How soon people forget.

[Anonymous]

Oh good, another generational warfare thread.

[Anonymous]

Not only were mortgage rates extremely low until recently, some of us boomers were at home buying age when mortgages were at 18%. I remember being ecstatic to refinance at 7%.

[Anonymous]

Not that it will help most people, but if Congress is as dysfunctional after 2024 as it is now there will be a lot of boomer estate planning maneuvering because of the risk of the lifetime estate/gift tax limit going down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Transferred from where to where?

Weren't mortgage rates 2% like 2 years ago?

Yes. How soon people forget.

Also mortgage rates were 18% in the 80s when boomers were buying their homes.

[Anonymous]

People older than boomers still have massive wealth. That’s just being passed down to younger boomers born in the sixties and millennials

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not only were mortgage rates extremely low until recently, some of us boomers were at home buying age when mortgages were at 18%. I remember being ecstatic to refinance at 7%.

That’s the articles point, you bought assets at low prices with high rates, meanwhile rates plummeted while those assets rose

Everyone know is buying way more inflation adjust expensive housing, with low rates maybe okay, but they aren’t refinancing EVER and thus not getting future discounts like the boomers did.

Asset appreciation is in question too, but I admit more murky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not only were mortgage rates extremely low until recently, some of us boomers were at home buying age when mortgages were at 18%. I remember being ecstatic to refinance at 7%.

+1 I'm a genxer. My first house back in 2002 was $750K, with a 6.75% rate in a hcol area.

My parents, silent generation, were blue collar workers with a mortgage rate in the double digits.

[Anonymous]

It’s all luck and timing. Gen X couple who bought in 06 in a hot gentrifying neighborhood for $600k. Had an interest only loan. Refinanced to 2.5 percent. It’s worth $1.1.

[Anonymous]

This boomer once had a 17.25% mortgage and never had one in the 3% area. My husband also got drafted and had to fight and get wounded in Vietnam. He didn’t want to go but he didn’t have an option and he did his duty. We have set up very well funded 529 plans for all of our grandchildren. We gift our kids a lot of money every year at Christmas and they will inherit a great amount of money. I inherited very little from my parents and my husband deferred his inheritance and it went to our children. Yes, our children and grandchildren are very lucky and unlike OPs crowd they are very grateful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not only were mortgage rates extremely low until recently, some of us boomers were at home buying age when mortgages were at 18%. I remember being ecstatic to refinance at 7%.

That’s the articles point, you bought assets at low prices with high rates, meanwhile rates plummeted while those assets rose

Everyone know is buying way more inflation adjust expensive housing, with low rates maybe okay, but they aren’t refinancing EVER and thus not getting future discounts like the boomers did.

Asset appreciation is in question too, but I admit more murky.

This. Boomers bought when price had an inverse relationship to rates. The best purchase you could make was a house in the 80s when prices were low and rates sky high. That house could have been refinanced into a low interest loan, gotten a new mortgage when rates where even lower and then sold when prices were sky high

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This boomer once had a 17.25% mortgage and never had one in the 3% area. My husband also got drafted and had to fight and get wounded in Vietnam. He didn’t want to go but he didn’t have an option and he did his duty. We have set up very well funded 529 plans for all of our grandchildren. We gift our kids a lot of money every year at Christmas and they will inherit a great amount of money. I inherited very little from my parents and my husband deferred his inheritance and it went to our children. Yes, our children and grandchildren are very lucky and unlike OPs crowd they are very grateful.

Ofc they’re grateful for all the gifts you’re giving them. The point is - OP and her generation don’t have the same parameters to make all that money on their own, which you did have when you were younger. That’s the whole point. Unless you inherit, you’re screwed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Transferred from where to where?

Weren't mortgage rates 2% like 2 years ago?

This. Your post is pathetic. Work for what you have op or just wait for your boomer parents to die so you can get your grandparents money.