There’s a line I never thought I’d write. But the truth is, as crypto becomes more and more mainstream over the years, there is room to have a real discussion over what Bitcoin, Ether and the like could mean for your retirement savings.
Or is it all too crazy and risky to consider? You’re going to be surprised what Morningstar found recently when it polled investors on whether or not they’re welcome crypto assets into their retirement portfolios.
By the numbers: Morningstar’s analysts surveys a nationally representative group of 1,400 people and asked them to rank 16 potential retirement plan features in order of most to least preferred, including the option to invest in cryptocurrencies. (The survey also considered more traditional offerings like the availability of professionally managed options, auto escalation, investment advice and more.)
Here’s what they found: Crypto was ranked dead last by the “majority” of respondents. In fact, the most common ranking for it was 16 out of 16, and 24% of respondents ranking it last.
But 3% of people ranked it first. A small group, to be sure, but a sign that there is actually some interest in a cryptocurrency-funded retirement after all.
It all comes down to age.
No surprise, older investors were less interested in it while younger investors were far more open to the idea. Here’s how the rankings for crypro broke down by generation:
- Gen Z: First 4.9%, Last 20.7%
- Millennials: First 4.4%, Last 18.7%
- Gen X: First 1.7%, Last 21.6%
- Boomers: First 0.8%, Last 40.9%
Simply put, boomers just aren’t having it. That 0.8% is about 11 people out of the entire survey group. But that doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. Gen Z and Millennials are far more likely to invest in cryptocurrencies anyway, so why wouldn’t they consider them a viable option for retirement.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Time will tell, but either way at least they have a few more decades to sort it all out.
