More than one in four Americans have savings below $1,000, with many blaming rising living costs as the reason they are not saving more, according to a new survey by Forbes Advisor. The survey found that 32% of Gen Z respondents had less than $1,000 in savings, followed by millennials at 31%, Gen X at 27% and baby boomers at 20%. More than half of Gen Z and Gen X had less than $5,000 in savings, compared to roughly 41% of millennials and 29% of baby boomers.
Thirty-one percent of all respondents said they seek to save between $2,501 to $5,000 this year. Most of that savings will be for emergency funds, although Gen X and baby boomers were just as likely to be saving for retirement. A large percentage of Gen Z respondents (22%) said they were saving for a new car. Nearly half of respondents (49%) said they expected to save the same or less this year than last year, with the rising cost of living the primary reason they are not saving more.
Standard savings accounts were the most popular savings vehicle across the generations surveyed, while high-interest options such as high-yield savings accounts and CDs were less common, according to the survey.
