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In today’s America, one of the rites of passage that marks the transition to full adulthood is paying your own phone bill. By this standard, many people — even those well into middle age — are stuck in an extended adolescence.
A survey released this month by the insurance firm Northwestern Mutual says that many Americans, including some in their 50s and 60s, rely on their parents for financial help. Some 56% of all respondents say it is “harder to achieve financial independence today than it was for previous generations.”
The Federal Reserve also conducts an annual survey on financial well-being, and it also reported an increase in the reliance on parents to pay the bills. About 23% of respondents needed some outside help in 2025, compared to 10% in 2017 — including more than 25% of Americans between the ages of 30 and 44.
In many ways this is not surprising; the US is in the grip of an affordability crisis. The cost of housing has soared, as have energy and food. Wages fell last year after accounting for inflation, and the job market has weakened, especially for new graduates. Student debt is at a record high. Meanwhile (for now at least), many young people see living in a big, expensive city as critical to launching their career. And older Americans, who have more wealth than ever after a lifetime of saving and healthy stock returns, may think it only natural that they give a little back to their children.
Continue reading the entire piece here at Bloomberg Opinion (paywall)
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Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.