Parental Support Past Age 25 Is the New Normal: Study

They are experiencing a "challenging conundrum," says Ken Dychtwald, CEO of Age Wave. "The only way to make a good salary and support a family is to go to college, but the costs of college pose a serious challenge." 

Thirty-six percent of college graduates currently paying off student loans said the debt wasn't worth it, according to the Merrill/Age Wave study.

"Student debt is having a major ripple effects on early adults' futures, financially and personally," according to the report. "Four hundred thousand early adults who would have purchased a home a decade ago have not been able to afford due to student debt, and today's early adults take finances into greater consideration in deciding whether and when to have a child than those in past generations."

They're also short-changing their retirement savings. Young adults with student debt contribute about 50% less to their 401(k) plans than those without student debt. About one-quarter of young adults reported making early withdrawals from their 401(k) plans, most often to pay off credit card debt, which averages $3,700 for those with credit card balances.

Not surprisingly,  60% of young adults defined financial success as being debt-free, according to the study.

Job Dissatisfaction

A good-paying job is key to to achieving financial independence, but many young adults are dissatisfied with their current job. Close to half of the study's respondents said they plan to look for a new job in the next 12 months, and 69% said the primary reason was to earn more money.

Many respondents reported dissatisfaction with their job not only because of inadequate pay (41%) but also because of limited career potential (44%) or misalignment with their passions or interests (35%).

The Differences Between Men and Women

In addition to findings that generalized the experience of young adults, the study found sharp differences between the trajectories for young men and young women. Fewer male millennials have a bachelor's degree — 31% vs. 42% for female millennials — and many more men 30 and over continue to receive parental support: 62% versus 49% for women of the same age.

The study concludes that "each generation experiences the life stage [for early adulthood] differently, and today's early adults are taking longer to complete it."