Family Planning: When it Comes to Kids, Younger Americans Aren’t Planning

Life insurance involves lives and dependents and taking care of those we leave behind so it stands to reason that life insurer, MassMutual would want to know what it found in its latest survey.

It turns out the family planning of many members of Generation Z (1995 to 2012) and the Millennials (1981 to 1996) is to not plan on having children at all. Pew Research did a study of its own in late July of this year and found 47% of those they talked with under age 50 say they will not likely ever become parents.

Here are the reasons:

• Financial reasons is listed by 23%
• 31% worry about the political and social world they’d bring children into
• 43% like the monetary freedom they have without children

LendingTree says the cost of raising a child has gone up three fold in recent years and the price tag is now about $22,000. Food is 57% of that figure and clothing accounts for 53%.

As proof of what the Gen Z and Millennials groups are saying, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said births in the U.S. dropped again between 2022 and 2023.

The CDC said birth rates have steadily fallen from 2007 to 2022 and the total drop over that time span is 23%.

MassMutual’s head of brand, product and affiliated distribution is Paul LaPiana. He said the financial stressors we’ve seen in the last few years says it all.

“With today’s financial stressors, it is understandable why there is a growing trend among young adults to prioritize financial security over parenthood,” he said. “This shift reflects a broader understanding of the importance of financial stability and independence in achieving long-term goals that every generation must reckon with.”

Another point from the MassMutual survey, 51% say they are anxious enough without having to come up with money to support children.

Source link: The Hill — https://bit.ly/492tQvZ