Visa: 66% of Baby Boomers Want to Enjoy or Pass on Wealth During Their Lifetime
Visa's research shows that 66% of Baby Boomers wish to enjoy their wealth or allow their heirs to enjoy it during their lifetime, with only 34% planning to retain it until after death.
This data comes from Visa's Business and Economic Insights analysis on "Great Wealth Transfer," indicating that Baby Boomers hold approximately $93 trillion in assets.
After deducting liabilities, retirement expenses, taxes, and the top 1%, about $36 trillion is expected to be transferred to Generation X and Millennials over the next 20 years.
Nearly 75% of heirs already belong to high-net-worth families, and most of the transferred wealth is expected to be saved or invested rather than consumed.
More Baby Boomers are transferring wealth early through means such as intergenerational travel and assistance with home down payments.
Funds are shifting from estate reserves to support and consumption during life, leading to adjustments in event-driven family spending structures, benefiting housing and travel-related industries, while traditional estate planning services face pressure.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Visa, as a payment network, has long tracked consumption and wealth flows. This report continues its observation that the scale of intergenerational transfer is often overestimated, as previous studies have indicated that retirement expenses and taxes significantly reduce the final transferable amount.
With 66% choosing to enjoy wealth during their lifetime or allow heirs to benefit early, the motivation lies in enhancing life experiences and supporting the next generation at key milestones (such as home purchases), strategically shifting wealth from "posthumous inheritance" to "living leverage."
Similar high-net-worth surveys, such as those by Schwab, show that young wealthy individuals have a higher willingness to share during their lifetime, indicating a transition from traditional inheritance models to a "enjoy and pass on" approach.
This essentially represents a capital path adjustment. The consumption and early transfer decisions of wealth-concentrated generations change the timing of fund allocation, mechanism-wise accelerating asset formation for the younger generation through internal family support, while compressing pure inheritance scales.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
- Enjoying wealth during life is preferred by most over posthumous inheritance.
- The true scale of great wealth transfer is often overestimated.
- When heirs are already wealthy, transfers are more likely to become savings rather than consumption.