Lincoln Financial Study Finds Inflation Is the Number One Financial Concern Among Consumers of Every Generation

In honor of Financial Literacy Month, Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC) today published its 2024 Financial Concerns Report to shine a light on the biggest financial concerns impacting Americans through every stage of their lives and offer insight into whether people are addressing their concerns.

“When it comes to our finances, so many of us are concerned about the same things, but it’s important to recognize the unique needs we have throughout our different stages of life,” said Tim Seifert, senior vice president, Head of Retirement Solutions Distribution. “Lincoln is committed to providing financial security to our customers and their families, and we hope that this report will be a catalyst to help spark conversation and get people actively thinking about ways to take action to address their own concerns and build strong financial futures.”

Inflation is impacting consumers across generations.

The study revealed that inflation is the top cited financial concern (66%) among American consumers across every generation. Inflation also underpinned other financial worries, with 59% of consumers concerned about whether they’ll have enough income to keep up with rising costs of living, as well as whether they’ll have enough income in retirement. Despite the focus on inflation, few are taking action to combat it – even among those who work with a financial professional. Only 17% of respondents who cited inflation as a concern have recently sought advice about how to address their concern.

Each generation has unique concerns aligned to their specific stage of life.

While inflation is a top concern across all generations, specific nuances surfaced within each group:

• Gen Z is the only generation citing "Paying for my education expenses / student loan debt” as a top three concern (48%).
• Millennials, who have faced several economic challenges throughout their lifetimes, are the most concerned generation overall, particularly when it comes to finding affordable housing (52%) and paying for childcare (37%).
• Gen X were the most concerned (64%) about having enough income in retirement.
• Baby boomers were the only generation to cite “Protecting myself against identity theft, cybersecurity, fraud, etc.” in their top three concerns (54%).

Consumers are more likely to seek information about financial topics related to affording costs of living, versus concerns that can be addressed with retirement and insurance products.