--- title: Gen Z and Millennial Investors Want Crypto and Alts in Their 401(k)s description: A large portion of Gen Z and millennial investors wish they could include crypto in their 401(k) accounts, according to a new survey. authors: - name: Sarah Hansen role: Senior Writer url: https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/ bio: Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes. education: Northwestern University, New York University at_money_since: 2021 articles: 347 covers: - Investing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/ former_staff: true editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Investing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2022-10-25T17:46:51.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T12:57:47.000Z' section: Investing tags: - Cryptocurrency - News word_count: 474 canonical: https://money.com/millennials-gen-z-crypto-401k/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo Collage of multiple rolls of one dollar bills next to cryptocurrency coins](https://img.money.com/2022/10/News-Workers-Crypto-401K-Investments.jpg?crop=0px%2C33px%2C1700px%2C956px&quality=85) Younger workers may be decades away from retirement, but they’re already thinking about their [401(k)s](https://money.com/what-is-a-401k-rollover/) — and how they want their accounts to be different than older generations. That’s according to a [new study](https://content.schwab.com/web/retail/public/about-schwab/schwab_2022_401k_participant_survey_genz_millennials_deck.pdf) from Schwab, which finds that millennials and Gen Z are more likely than Gen X and baby boomers to want a wider range of investment choices in their retirement accounts — including [cryptocurrencies](https://money.com/what-is-cryptocurrency/). The survey of 1,100 401(k) plan participants was conducted in April. “Younger workers today are beginning their financial journey from a different place than older generations did when they began,” Catherine Golladay, Head of Schwab Workplace Financial Services, said in a [news release](https://pressroom.aboutschwab.com/press-releases/press-release/2022/Schwab-401k-Study-Finds-Millennials-and-Gen-Z-Take-Advantage-of-Broader-Range-of-Retirement-Resources-Than-Previous-Generations/default.aspx). “They see an opportunity to reach their financial goals through diverse assets that are making them excited about investing and engaged in their financial futures.” ## Gen Z and millennials want crypto in retirement portfolios Roughly 45% of both Gen Z and millennial retirement savers said they wished they could invest in cryptocurrency via their 401(k) accounts. Just 11% of boomers and 31% of Gen X said the same. It’s no surprise: Cryptocurrency skyrocketed in popularity among [younger investors](https://money.com/gen-z-rewriting-personal-finance-rules-real-time/) during the pandemic. Earlier this year, a survey by the IRA rollover service Capitalize found that more than half of Gen Z and millennial adults were including [NFTs](https://money.com/what-are-nfts/) OR [cryptocurrencies as part of their retirement strategies](https://money.com/gen-z-millennials-invest-crypto-retirement/). Another survey conducted by Quinnipiac University found that most people under age 50 believe that cryptocurrency will be a “[dominant economic force](https://money.com/crypto-dominant-economic-force-survey/)” in the years to come. It’s worth noting that cryptocurrency is an [inherently risky investment](https://money.com/crypto-not-protected-fdic/), and that younger savers may be more suited to take on that risk than their older counterparts because they have a longer investment horizon. ## ESG, fractional shares and annuities are popular too It’s not just crypto. More than a third of both Gen Z and millennial retirement savers said they wished their 401(k)s could include [ESG](https://money.com/esg-investing-criteria/) (environmental, social and governance) or other socially responsible investment options. The same portion wanted the option for their 401(k) accounts to be invested in [fractional shares](https://money.com/stocks-fractional-shares/) — slices of shares you can often buy for as little as $1 — rather than having to trade whole shares. Fractional shares aren’t a new concept, but they gained popularity as the stock market soared during the pandemic. Younger savers are also looking for more traditionally “safe” investments, like [annuities](https://money.com/what-are-annuities/) that will offer guaranteed income after retirement. Schwab found that more than 40% of both Gen Z and millennials said they wanted the option to invest in annuities via their 401(k), while just 28% of boomers said the same. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-gen-z-crypto-401k/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Investing", "item": "https://money.com/investing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cryptocurrency", "item": "https://money.com/cryptocurrency/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Gen Z and Millennial Investors Want Crypto and Alts in Their 401(k)s" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-gen-z-crypto-401k/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/millennials-gen-z-crypto-401k/", "name": "Gen Z and Millennial Investors Want Crypto and Alts in Their 401(k)s", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2022-10-25T17:46:51.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-gen-z-crypto-401k/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-gen-z-crypto-401k/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-17T12:57:47.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Gen Z and Millennial Investors Want Crypto and Alts in Their 401(k)s", "articleSection": "Investing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2022/10/News-Workers-Crypto-401K-Investments.jpg?crop=0px%2C33px%2C1700px%2C956px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "News-Workers-Crypto-401K-Investments" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Hansen", "url": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/#author", "description": "Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. 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