Baby Boomers To Inherit More Than $11 Trillion

According to Metlife’s Study of Inheritance and Wealth Transfer to Baby Boomers, there may be a glimmer of hope for baby boomers, many financially burdened, who could possibly inherit more than $8 trillion, mostly from parents and grandparents. 

Roughly 67% of all boomers are set to receive some inheritance in their lifetime.

The study also reports boomers have or will receive a substantial sum from their parents while they are still alive, which increases the total transfer of wealth to $11.6 trillion. 

The median inheritance per person is $64,000, and $2.4 trillion has already been given. The wealthiest boomers expect to receive an average of $1.5 million, and the least wealthy will be left $27,000, a sum that represents a larger percentage of the latter group's overall wealth.

Here are some key findings from the study:

63% of inheritances and 74% of dollars are from parents to children, and the grandparents are the 2nd most common source. Most boomers will receive their inheritance in late middle age.

Although only 17% of boomers had received an inheritance by 2007, 67% will eventually receive one.

The adjusted-for-inflation median amount boomers received by 2007 is about the same as the amount received by the preceding 1927-1945 birth group at the same ages.