NEW YORK -- The gap in financial health between generations is growing as Generation Y employees -- those between the ages of 21 to 32 -- are struggling more with debt and cash management issues, finds a PriceWaterhouse Coopers survey. Meanwhile, baby boomer and Generation X employees' financial well-being has improved in the past 12 months.
Gen Y, or "Millennials," is the only generation to see an uptick in the percentage of employees who consistently carry balances on their credit cards, up 14% year-over-year to 51%, according to the PriceWaterhouse U.S. 2014 Employee Financial Wellness Survey.
More Gen Y employees also reported difficulty meeting their household expenses on time each month -- 41%, up 11% from last year and once again the only generation not to see an improvement.
"While last year our results showed that Gen X carried the heaviest financial burden as they were pulled between obligations to their parents, children and their own retirement, their financial health, along with that of baby boomers, appears to be recovering faster than Gen Y employees," said Kent Allison, partner and national practice leader of PwC's employee financial education practice.
Health care continues to be a significant concern with 81% of employees saying they believe that health care costs will rise over the next several years, and 48% of all baby boomers confident they'll be able to cover their medical expenses in retirement. Some 33% of employees cited health care costs as one of their biggest concerns about retirement, but fewer employees cited the fear of losing health care coverage as a reason to delay retirement, down 5% this year from last year.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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