Why Boomer Investors Are So Pessimistic About 2025
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Boomers are feeling far less optimistic than younger Americans in their financial outlook for the rest of 2025.
Only 1 in 3 boomer investors reported having a positive financial view for the remainder of the year, according to the financial firm Betterment’s retail investor survey released Wednesday.
While financial positivity dropped for investors of all ages this year, boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964, were notably the least optimistic about how things are looking in 2025. Their views soured sharply from last year, when 47% of them reported a positive outlook. Pessimism has overcome Gen Xers, too. Only 40% of Gen X investors, born between 1965 and 1980, had a positive outlook on 2025, down from 53% last year.
On the other hand, 67% of Gen Zers (born 1997 to 2012) and 53% of millennials (born 1981 to 1996) reported having upbeat expectations for the year.
For Betterment’s third annual report on retail investors, the financial firm surveyed 1,200 investors between April 2 and April 14.
Facing market volatility as retirement approaches is stressful
The timing of Betterment’s survey this year is particularly relevant because President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on April 2 that sent markets plummeting.
Trump’s tariffs were clearly on investors’ minds, with their top three financial stressors being inflation, a potential recession and politics. Since April, the markets have recovered, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching record highs at the end of last week.
The early April timing of the survey may well explain the magnitude of change in boomers' financial outlook this year — but not why they tend to be the least financially optimistic about the financial future in general (and across all three Betterment surveys).
After all, boomers have, by far, the highest investment account balances on average.
For example, the average 401(k) savings for boomers is $239,600 — nearly 17 times larger than the average account balance for Gen Z, according to the latest data from financial firm Fidelity. As for self-directed brokerage accounts, Charles Schwab says the typical balance for boomers is over $560,000. For millennials, it’s less than $125,000.
What's more, very few Americans rate their own personal financial situation highly, with most young Americans financially struggling the most. So why would Gen Zers and millennials be so much more upbeat about their financial futures?
It's all about time left in the market.
“This optimism may stem from their relative youth, giving them more time to recover from economic downturns, and their experience of rapid technological and economic growth,” Chris Francis, managing partner of Orion Capital, wrote in a recent report.
As for older investors, Francis notes, a lot of their wealth is tied up in volatile markets right now. With retirement approaching, market volatility is particularly bad news because it gives them “less time to recover from potential savings lost in a downturn.”
So compared to younger investors, boomers have a lot more to lose. And a lot less time for gains.
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