Senior Citizens net worth
 

According a report released by the census bureau on Mon--the average household headed by a person over 65 has 47 times more wealth than a household headed by a 35 year old

Makes you wonder who should be getting age related discounts--looks like fixed income , won't float

I don't understand what the census bureau is trying demonstrate with this. Most young people are still paying off their home, raising kids, student loan and paying the bills. Big Duh here, naturally someone over 65 will have more wealth because their home is paid off, their savings/investments have grown over the years, and they aren't raising kids. Just more class warfare garbage.

Sounds reasonable to me.
At age 35 my mortgage was nearly equal to my assets.
Net zero.

47 times doesn't sound correct. Can you provide a link to the census report? This is the latest data I could find for household wealth on the Census website:

Age of Householder Net Worth
Less than 35 years $8,854
35 to 44 years 57,600
45 to 54 years 104,300
55 to 64 years 178,300
65 years and over 201,500
65 to 69 years 197,500
70 to 74 years 218,200
75 and over 193,600

Where did the census bureau get this information? As far as I know no governmental body knows my net worth. The IRS knows my taxable income but the census bureau should not be able to access my IRS information.

Most folks start out with little as young adults. It takes time and the power of compound interest to build net worth. Whether the number is twenty or two hundred times does not matter. Too, many Baby Boomers inherited a lot and their children should inherit more as the economy has grown since WWII.

Agree, doesn't pass the sniff test.


Here is 2016: Wealth, Asset Ownership, & Debt of Households Detailed Tables: 2016

What exactly do you mean by "too many baby boomers inherited a lot"? I didn't inherit anything, nor did my wife. Although I do know boomers that had inheritances, most of the people I know got very little if anything. We bought our first house when I was 22, not an expensive house, and paid it off when I was 26 with no help from my family or friends. I worked a mediocre job full time back then, I also had a part time job and did farm hand work on Saturdays, my wife had a part time job and took care of our daughter. I can still remember when I was very young my parents celebrating that they paid off their mortgage and they did it the same way we did. My parents savings went to nursing homes and there was nothing left at the end. My father struggled with Alzheimers for more than a decade and would not take financial advice from anyone regarding protecting his assets. Unfortunate but that was his way, his way or no way.

Therein is an important point about a huge difference in the American economy in the last 40 - 50 years. There is absolutely no way that a couple working mediocre jobs and part time jobs can afford a house, much less pay it off in 4 years. Home ownership used to be a major contributor to upward mobility. It no longer is an option for those without a good paying job, or two good paying jobs.

We might all be surprised if we knew what the government (or corporate America) knows about us.

Data that is published by the government that can later be used to justify slashing seniors social security and Medicare benefits. Doesn’t smell good to me.

There are some lower priced homes on the “Historic Side”.

That may apply to married couples with 2 incomes but when you lose your spouse and 1/2 of your income, it is very hard to make the money stretch far enough.

I did not write “too many”. I wrote “too, many”. Huge difference in meaning minus the comma.

Good on you. My personal story is similar. I started working part time bagging groceries at 14. Although I inherited very little many of my contemporaries have inherited meaningful sums.

Agree