Generally described as individuals born between 1996 and 2015, and currently ages 21 or younger. Many are about to enter the workforce. This is an ideal time to impact retirement savings behavior.
Our focus in the early stage of this initiative will be individuals ages 15 to 20. We will also study the behavior of tail-end Millennials ages 20 to 22 - when many start saving for retirement.
Numbers:
At roughly 26% of America’s total population, Generation Z recently overtook Millennials as the nation’s largest population segment -- and it continues to grow.
Defining events:
Grew up in post-9/11, recession environment
Families experienced the financial crisis of 2008
Election of the first African-American President of the United States
Passage of the Affordable Care Act
Adoption of same-sex marriage in all 50 states
Introduction of such technologies as the iPod, iPad, smartphone, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, iTunes, Tesla, and the Google Self-Driving Car to name a few
50% increase in multi-racial families since year 2000
Blurring of traditional gender roles
Characteristics:
Independent
Self-reliant
Resourceful
Diverse
Responsible
Lower teen drug use
Lower teen birth rate
Extremely tech-savvy
Entrepreneurial
Ecologically-minded
Friends the world over
Want to change the world
Believe that a good college education does not guarantee a successful career
Multi-task on multiple electronic devices
Short attention spans
Build personal online brands, but guard privacy
Communicate with emojis, selfies, and images
Have global social networks
Preference for in-person interaction in some segments
Favor online shopping
Share purchasing decisions and product opinions with friends
