Here’s how much the typical millennial will earn over their lifetime – and why Brexit could make it even worse
The typical millennial earned £8,000 less during their 20s than the previous generation, a new report has suggested.
Figures by think tank the Resolution Foundation suggested the younger a millennial is (it's a pretty wide definition – anyone between 15 and 35), the less they're likely to have earned during their 20s.
In fact, the report suggests that in the best-case scenario, millennials will earn £890,000 over the course of their life – seven per cent more than generation X, which makes it a third of the size of the so-called pay progress gen X made over the generation before them, baby boomers.
In the worst-case scenario, though, the typical millennial will make just £825,000 over the course of their life – making them the first generation ever to make less than their predecessors over the course of their working lives. The report added that such a pessimistic scenario could take place if the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecasts about the economic effects of Brexit are right…
That's on top of the punishing situation they're facing in the housing market: baby boomers were 50 per cent more likely to own their own home by the time they were 30 than millennials. Hardly surprising, considering gen Y will have spent £44,000 more on rent by that time…
“Fairness between the generations is something public policy has ignored for too long," said David Willetts, executive chair of the Resolution Foundation.
"But it is rising up the agenda with the Prime Minister, politicians of all parties, business leaders and others rightly identifying it as a growing challenge. That is why the Intergenerational Commission is being set up to provide the most comprehensive analysis of the living standards challenges faced by different generations – and recommendations for action.”