One in four Millennials say they’re relying on cryptocurrency to help fund their retirement, according to a new survey from Investopedia.
Millennials are just as likely to be invested in cryptocurrency (38%) as they are the stock market (37%), the survey found. Members of Gen Z and Gen X aren’t far behind in crypto investments, with 23% and 28% respectively owning digital currency.
The survey released this week found financial literacy education needs a major overhaul to keep up with dramatic generational shifts in investing and retirement planning.
Ahead of Financial Literacy Month this April, the Investopedia 2022 Financial Literacy Survey asked 4,000 U.S. adults—1,000 each from Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer generations—about their financial know-how, habits, worries, and retirement plans. The results show many younger Americans are banking on riskier assets to pay for earlier retirements, and they’re turning to social media to teach them how.
“Our relationship to money, investing, and financial planning has radically changed in the past few years,” said Investopedia Editor in Chief Caleb Silver. “New asset classes like crypto and NFTs have emerged just as millions of people are taking their first steps into investing. These changes require a modernized approach to financial education—one that provides people of all ages with knowledge of new, emerging, and traditional financial products and services. As financial educators, it is our responsibility to make sure we are fostering that literacy as far and wide as we can.”
Among members of Gen Z:
- 39% of Gen Z investors report getting their investing information from YouTube.
- 30% turn to TikTok for personal finance information.
- Internet searches (39%) and conversations with friends and family (44%) were also cited as important sources of information.
Digging deeper into the survey, more than half (53%) of Gen Z respondents said they expect to stop working before age 60, and many intend to rely on Social Security (27%) and crypto (17%) to fund their retirement.
Millennials might be most keen on crypto, but Gen Z and Gen X are equally bullish. When asked what asset they expect to yield the greatest returns for them over the next decade, all three generations said cryptocurrency, followed by stocks. Baby Boomers think their stocks and mutual funds will produce the greatest 10-year returns, but cryptocurrency still surpassed more traditional investment vehicles such as index funds and ETFs.
Ten percent of Gen Z, 15% of Millennials, and 13% of Gen X are invested in non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
SEE ALSO:
• Financial Literacy Month Offers Chance to Boost Americans’ ‘Retirement IQ’
• DOL Cautions 401k Fiduciaries on Cryptocurrencies in Wake of Executive Order