Susan K. Neely
President and CEO, American Council of Life Insurers
Despite student debt and dwindling social security, millennials remain optimistic about their financial futures. Life insurance helps, and here’s why.
Here’s something I’ll bet you didn’t know: The oldest millennials are celebrating their 20th anniversary in the workforce this year.
Hard to believe, right? But it’s true. The millennial generation — widely defined as people born between 1981 and 1996 — has grown up in a flash. An 18-year-old high school graduate in 1999 who didn’t go to college has been in the workforce now for two decades. Indeed, millennials are already the largest generation in the U.S. labor force.
Millennials today
As they face big questions over starting families, housing, and career advancement, millennials will encounter momentous financial decisions impacting their futures. Their past journey has seen ups and downs.
The millennial generation is the best educated in American history, but those who attended college endured higher education costs that far outpaced inflation. Consequently, many millennials have large student loans.
Resilience in spades
Several of those millennials entered the workforce close to the severe economic downturn that began in late 2007. Jobs for young adults were particularly hard to find during this period. Fortunately, as the economy rebounded in the past decade, unemployment dropped, and earnings have only grown for the college-educated.
Like all generations, however, most millennials do not have a college degree. Despite these challenges, millennials remain optimistic about their financial futures. After all, resilience is one of the generation’s best qualities!
Lock it in with life insurance
Life insurers stand ready to help and offer solutions every step of the way. We want to meet millennials where they are and help take on their challenges, no matter where they’ve been or where they’re going. If you are a millennial, here are steps you can take to secure your future:
- Protect your ability to work: A millennial’s most valuable asset is their earning power, which can be protected with disability income insurance. According to the Social Security Administration, just over 1 in 4 of today’s 20-year-olds can expect to be out of work for at least a year because of an injury or illness before reaching age 67.
- Protect your family: More than 1 million millennials are becoming first-time moms each year. Life insurance, which is very affordable for millennials, provides invaluable financial security for growing families.
- Protect your experience in your second half of life: If a millennial is in excellent health at age 30, they are likely to live to at least age 90. Life insurers offer solutions, including annuities, that can help millennials save and prepare for retirement and provide guaranteed income for a lifetime.
Life insurers are here to help turn millennials’ resilience and resourcefulness into brighter financial futures.