Pandemic years help older adults make big gains on wealth front
The wealth of the typical U.S. older adult climbed by about $91,000 during the pandemic years as home and stock values soared, new research shows.
That was the median increase in net worth between 2019 and 2022 for households headed by someone age 65 or older, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, using data from the Fed's Survey of Consumer Finances. Households headed by someone 40 to 64 years old saw median gains of $57,800.
Those headed by people 18 to 39 saw the smallest gains in dollar terms — at $31,600 — although since they were starting from a lower base, they enjoyed the biggest percentage increases.
Older adults normally have more wealth than younger people, but the greater gains for older Americans in the last few years have made that disparity “starker,” according to a recent paper coauthored by Lowell Ricketts, a data scientist at the St. Louis Fed's Institute for Economic Equity.
“Though it's important to note that this isn't a zero sum situation,” Ricketts said in an email. “The extra $32,000 for the typical family in the younger group can improve both financial stability and economic mobility.”
Slightly more than half of seniors' gains in net worth came from nonfinancial assets like home values, while retirement accounts and other financial assets contributed the remaining 48%.
People 65 and older in the 90th percentile of wealth, with a net worth equal to or greater than 90% of the population, saw increases of about $893,000. Those in the 10th percentile by wealth only got an extra $1,181, although that was a 20% rise in percentage terms because of their low starting point.
CEOs confident in U.S. economy but bemoan regulation
Confidence among chief executive officers of large U.S. companies jumped to the highest level since mid-2022 on stronger sales expectations and improvements in investment and hiring plans.
The Business Roundtable's CEO Economic Outlook index increased 11 points to 85, according to its first-quarter survey released Wednesday. Readings above 50 indicate expectations for economic expansion in the next six months. Up until the latest reading, the gauge was confined to a narrow range in the 70s for a year.
Despite greater optimism about the economy and business prospects, executives took much dimmer view of US government policies. More than 75% of respondents said current policies were undermining enterprise. Of those, 92% pointed to burdensome regulations.
“A large majority of our CEOs are worried that excessive regulation and overreaching antitrust actions are eroding the foundation of free enterprise and the benefits it provides,” Joshua Bolten, CEO of the industry group, said in a statement. “We urge policymakers to recommit themselves to promoting economic growth, creating more American jobs and increasing economic mobility.”
State AGs ask Meta to take action on account takeovers
A group of 40 state attorneys general have sent a letter to Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta expressing “deep concern” over what they say is dramatic uptick of consumer complaints about account takeovers and lockouts.
The attorneys general called on Meta to do a better job preventing account takeovers — when malicious actors take a users' accounts, lock them out by changing their passwords, and post their own material, read private messages, scam contacts and engage in other harmful or illegal behavior.
The letter asks Meta to take “immediate action to increase mitigation tactics and respond to users whose accounts have been taken over.” It also asks the Menlo Park, California-based company to provide information on the number of account takeovers over the past five years, the suspected causes of the increase in account takeovers and safeguards it has in place.
“Consumers are reporting their utter panic when they first realize they have been effectively locked out of their accounts,” says the letter dated March 5.
The takeovers pose a significant financial risk to users, who may be running businesses or have credit card information linked to their social media accounts.