SUMMARY OF SURVEY FINDINGS

Transcription

1 MEMORANDUM TO: Allstate FROM: FTI Cnsulting DATE: 05 / 29 / 2015 RE: Allstate/Natinal Jurnal Heartland Mnitr XXIII Key Findings This memrandum utlines key findings frm a natinal survey f American adults cnducted May 17-27, This 23 rd installment f the Allstate/Natinal Jurnal Heartland Mnitr Pll investigates Americans experiences and perspectives n getting started in life and seeks answers t the fllwing questins: What are the rules f success in tday s ecnmy cmpared t previus years? What d peple in different life stages think abut majr milestnes like hme wnership, marriage, and children? What expectatins d Americans have fr their persnal finances, their career, where t live, and retirement? The survey was cnducted amng a natinal sample f 900 adults age 18+, with 450 reach via cell phne and 450 reached via landline. The survey als included an additinal versample f 200 adults age natinwide, with 150 reached via cell phne and 50 reached via landline. This ttal sample f 1,100 adults was weighted by age, gender, and race/ethnicity t a natinally representative sample f 1,000. The margin f errr fr a sample f 1,000 is +/- 3.1 in 95 ut f 100 cases. This survey classified respndents int ne f tw categries: Yunger Americans are age and thse age wh answered that they were still getting started in life. Older Americans are age 30+ and thse age wh did nt cnsider themselves t be still getting started. On many tpics thrughut the survey, Yunger respndents were asked questins in the cntext f their current expectatins and experiences, while questins t the Older respndents were asked questins retrspectively f the time in which they were getting started. SUMMARY OF SURVEY FINDINGS Getting started in life has lng been a familiar term in American life withut a precise definitin. In an attempt t shed sme light n this stage f life and the decisins, pririties, and challenges that lay therein, this 23 rd installment f the Heartland Mnitr Pll explred this issue thrugh questins abut Americans views n family, husing, emplyment, educatin, and persnal finances. In particular, this pll examined the different expectatins and experiences f Yunger Americans (thse age and the majrity f thse age wh said they were still getting started ) cmpared t the seasned retrspective f Older Americans (age 30+ and an advanced grup f thse age 25-29). During a time f cntinued ecnmic and plitical frustratin, we were interested t see remarkable cnsistency between these age grups in hw they measured success in tday s ecnmy. Bth grups als have high standards fr mving beynd the getting started phase f life. Mst in bth age grups say that it s nt enugh t simply graduate frm cllege, get a full-time jb, mve ut f Mm and Dad s huse, and pay yur wn bills. Rather, the bar is set higher and grwing up is seen by mst t include a supervisry jb with a career path, an advanced degree with student lans paid ff, getting married and having children. Americans f all ages als still subscribe t the ideas f hme wnership as a gd investment, marriage as a wrthwhile institutin, and cntinuing educatin as a wrthwhile career step. 1

2 With these high standards and expectatins cmes an acknwledgement that getting started is cnsiderably harder tday than it was in previus generatin. Yunger Americans are experiencing this acutely n the issue f student lans, a burden faced increasingly by this grup cmpared t Older Americans. Yet, despite these challenges, Yunger Americans are amng the mst ptimistic f any grup in the pll. They fresee persnal financial imprvement in the near term. They remain idealistic in their career chices, priritizing enjyment and making a difference ver making mney and career grwth, althugh many are als entrepreneurial. And, they als appear t be charting a slightly different curse than their parents generatin. They prefer t live in an area with a strng sense f cmmunity and vlunteerism and mre public services. And, they think it might be a better chice t wait fr financial stability befre getting married and having children. KEY FINDINGS 1. Fr all the discussin abut generatinal differences in the United States tday, Americans f different age grups are clsely aligned n hw they view majr life milestnes and what they see as the requirements fr mving past the getting started phase f life. When asked what it means t mve beynd the getting started phase f life, bth Yunger Americans (thse still getting started) and Older Americans agree n the fllwing measures f success: T a majrity, it means either buying a hme (34%) r even wning a hme utright (22%). Neither mving ut f Mm and Dad s huse (27%) nr n lnger living with rmmates (10%) qualifies as mving beynd this initial life stage. Mst think it s necessary t get married (34%) r have children (21%) t mve beynd the getting started stage, mre than being in a cmmitted relatinship (15%) r living with a significant ther (15%). Simply graduating frm high schl nly cunts as success fr twenty percent (20%) f Americans, with mre expecting higher educatinal achievements such as a cllege degree (31%) r graduate degree (9%). One-in-three (34%) even think that ne must pay ff student lans befre mving past the getting started stage, including pluralities in bth the Older (32%) and Yunger (39%) grups. Fewer than half think that success means either wrking a full-time jb (20%) r a skilled jb with benefits (23%). Mst set higher standards f either a supervisry psitin (5%) r hlding a jb that is part f a lng-term career (45%). 2

3 Only ne-in-five (21%) think that having financial independence frm their parents is an indicatin f success. Bth Older and Yunger Americans have higher standards fr financial success, like n lnger living paycheck t paycheck (25%), having cnsumer and student debt under cntrl (12%) and, t a plurality, having dispsable incme and a lng-term savings plan (35%). Frm a list f 20 different milestnes in husing, career, finances, family/relatinships, and educatin, the tp three events that signify the end f getting started are the same fr bth the Yunger and Older grups: Having dispsable incme and a lng-term savings plan, Wrking in a jb that is part f a lng-term career, and N lnger living paycheck t paycheck. A majrity (53%) f Yunger Americans still starting ut name their parents are the best surce f advice n what t d when getting started in life, far surpassing their wn research (21%), siblings/ther family (9%), friends (3%), a teacher (5%) r an emplyer (5%). Older Americans, lking back t when they were starting ut, give nearly identical respnses abut wh they saw as the best surce f advice. Brad majrities f bth Yunger and Older Americans believe there are psitive benefits t marriage, hme wnership, and cntinuing educatin. Ging back full-time fr additinal educatin after being in the wrkfrce is seen as ultimately helpful by 77% f Americans, including 70% f thse with n mre than a high schl degree. Hme wnership is seen by 72% as a smart and achievable lng-term financial decisin, including by 62% in the Yunger grup wh are currently renting. Just 13% think hme wnership is a smart but unachievable decisin and 12% say it is t much risk and t big f a cmmitment. Three-in-fur Americans (74%) think marriage is a still-relevant institutin that allws peple t live a mre happy and successful life. Just 21%, including 28% f thse in the Yunger grup still getting started in life, think marriage is an utdated institutin that is n lnger necessary. Thse starting ut and thse already established generally agree n the drivers f a successful career. Ntably, they rate technlgical understanding, being able t wrk with peple frm many different backgrunds, keeping skills current, and even having gd family cnnectins as mre imprtant than having a fur-year degree. 3

4 2. There is als wide acknwledgement f the challenges and bstacles present t thse getting started in life tday. Wide majrities, regardless f age r life stage, believe that getting started in life is harder fr yung peple tday. Mre than tw-in-three (68%) Yunger Americans still starting ut think they persnally have a harder time than early generatins verall and n several different factrs. Fur-in-Five (80%) Older Americans agree that starting ut tday is harder than when they were at the same pint in life. Three-in-fur Americans (74%) say it s harder tday t find affrdable and desirable husing. Three-in-fur (73%) say it s harder t manage persnal finances and cntrl debt. Fur-in-five (80%) say it s harder tday t start and supprt a family. Fur-in-five (80%) say it s harder t find a gd-paying and steady jb. Mre than tw-thirds f bth Yunger Americans (69%) and Older Americans (68%) wh have (nn-mrtgage) persnal r cnsumer debt acknwledge that it has had an effect n their decisins n majr life milestnes such as marriage, children, educatin, r buying a hme. 3. Beynd these similarities, Yung Americans are significantly mre cncerned abut their persnal finances, especially student lans. When asked abut the biggest challenges facing yung peple getting started tday, these yung peple name mney and persnal budget (37%) ahead f educatin (25%), wrk and career (20%), relatinships and family (11%), and husing (5%). Mney and persnal budget is especially seen as a big challenge amng yunger flks withut a cllege degree. Nearly half (45%) currently have student lan debt, cmpared t just 28% in the Older grup when they were first getting started. Regarding debt, there is a vast difference between Yunger peple still starting ut and the retrspective f current senir citizens. Amng the Yunger grup, 45% have student lan debt and just 23% have n debt f any type. Amng current senirs citizens (age 65+), 44% say they had n debt at all when getting starting in life and just 11% had student lan debt. 4

5 Amng Yunger peple still getting started, paying ff debt like credit cards and student lan debt (32%) is seen as the best use f mney left ver at the end f the mnth, ahead f building an emergency fund (21%), saving ahead fr majr purchases (15%), saving t buy a hme (14%), investing in retirement (10%), and saving ahead fr children s cllege (7%). Fr Older Americans lking back at what they wish they had dne better when they were getting started, investing in retirement tps their list (26%), with debt, hme savings, emergency fund, and children s cllege all lumped tgether as a secndary pririty. Nearly tw-in-three Yunger Americans (63%) describe their persnal financial situatin as fair r pr, significantly higher than the 54% in the Older grup. Nearly seven-in-ten (69%) f Yunger Americans withut a cllege degree describe their finances as fair/pr cmpared t 52% f their cunterparts with a degree. Tw-thirds (67%) f thse getting started wh have student lans say their situatin is fair/pr, cmpared t just 47% f thse withut student lans. Tw-in-three (66%) f thse just getting started say they need t make between $50,000 and $100,000 r mre in husehld incme t be financially secure; specifically almst a quarter (23%) say at least $50,000 and ne-in-five (20%) say at least $60, Still, as we ve seen thrughut the Heartland Mnitr series, Yunger Americans are psitive abut their financial future. Fully seven-in-ten (70%) f the Yunger grup say their persnal financial situatin will be better by this time next year. Just 41% f the Older grup feels the same ptimism. Half (50%) believe they have mre pprtunity t get ahead than their parents did, especially nn-whites (62%) and thse wh dn t have a parent with a cllege degree (57%). 5

6 Nearly half (46%) say that regarding persnal financial matters like saving fr retirement, investing, and managing debt, they knw what t d and are fllwing a plan. Anther 36% say they knw what t d and can t affrd it, while just 15% say they dn t knw what they shuld be ding. Amng the Older grup, just 28% say they knew what t d n these matters when they were just getting started. Mre than half (54%) in the Yunger grups think they ll be able t retire befre age 65, cmpared t just 41% f current Older, nn-retirees. 5. Thse getting started in life have different pririties and beliefs abut their preferred career, type f place t live, and timing f marriage and children. Yunger Americans still starting ut name ding smething enjyable (32%) and making a difference in sciety (25%) as their highest pririties in a jb, ahead f learning skills t build a career (23%) and earning as much mney as pssible (16%). Their Older cunterparts, lking back, ranked their pririties in a much different rder, with earning mney (33%) at the tp, fllwed by learning skills (31%), ding smething enjyable (16%), and making a difference in sciety (11%). Asked abut the ptential emplyer with the best cmbinatin f incme, pprtunity and jb security, the Yunger grup s tp chice was wning yur wn business while the Older grup chse public sectr wrk. Just abut half (49%) in the Yunger grup think the best pssible career path will cme frm regularly changing emplyers. Lking back, just 38% in the Older grup think that different emplyers wuld have been a better path 53% think a single emplyer wuld have been the best chice. Half (50%) in the Yunger grup think it s better fr their career and family t mve t a different part f the cunty than t stay in the cmmunity where they currently live fr a lng time (49%). The Older grup had strnger ties t their neighbrhds with twthirds (67%) chsing t stay in their cmmunity and twenty-eight percent (28%) pting fr a different part f the cuntry. 6

7 Yunger Americans are evenly split n a chice between living in a place with less public services and als lwer taxes (48%) and a place with mre services and higher taxes (50%). By tw-t-ne margin (65%-31%), Older Americans prefer the frmer, lw-tax ptin. Yunger Americans are als much mre drawn t settling dwn in a place with an active culture f cmmunity and vlunteerism. Fifty-five percent (55%) find this very appealing, cmpared t 44% f the Older grup lking back at their pririties when they were starting ut. On tw imprtant family issues, the Yunger grup is mre likely than the Older grup t say that peple shuld wait until they are financially secure t get married (73% vs. 55%) and als t have children (86% vs. 67%). Just ver half (51%) f Yunger Americans say that if they were raising children tday, the better chice fr their family wuld be tw wrking parents and schl/childcare. Frty-fur percent (44%) think that ne parent wrking and ne parent prviding child care wuld be the better apprach. The preference is flipped amng the Older grup, with 55% preferring a parent at hme and 41% preferring tw wrking parents. 7