Home Breadcrumb caret Industry News Breadcrumb caret Industry Boomers OK when it comes to wealth, StatsCan says Gen X are the leaders in spending and debt By James Langton | June 26, 2020 | Last updated on June 26, 2020 2 min read © Wavebreak Media / 123RF Baby boomers still hold the most wealth in Canada, and generation X are the biggest consumers, according to a new report from Statistics Canada. The report examines wealth distribution by demographic cohort — boomers (born 1946 to 1964), gen X (1965 to 1980) and millennials (after 1980) — finding that Boomers remain the wealthiest with an average net worth of $1.2 million, and accounting for about half of all household wealth. The boomers’ share of wealth was essentially unchanged between 2010 and 2019, StatsCan reported. The share for the pre-1946 crowd has diminished as they draw down assets in retirement, and sat at about 15% in 2019. The younger cohorts (gen X and millennials) are increasing their share of wealth as they accumulate assets. StatsCan also reported that gen X has the highest debt-to-income ratio at 220%, although this is down by 18 percentage points since 2010. And, gen X households are the biggest consumers, spending on average over $100,000 in 2019. “While Generation X households spend more in most categories, boomers spend more on insurance and financial services, the pre-1946 generation spend more on health, and millennials spend more on education,” the report said. Millennials also saw their debt-to-income ratio rise by 21 points between 2010 and 2019 to 199%. At the same time, their debt-to-asset ratio declined from 45.6% to 39.7%. StatsCan noted that “growing real estate values for millennials have more than compensated for their increased debt holdings since 2010, [but that] disposable income has not kept pace, growing at an average rate of 5% per year compared with 6% for total debt.” For gen X, the debt-to-asset ratio dropped from 38.3% in 2010 to 23.2% in 2019, “as the growth in real estate, pension plans and investment funds outpaced debt,” the report said. Given that gen X and millennials both have high debt-to-income ratios, the report noted that they are also “more susceptible to reductions in disposable income in 2020, as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have negatively impacted employment.” James Langton James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994. Save Stroke 1 Print Group 8 Share LI logo