With 11K Baby Boomers Retiring Daily And 401(k) Withdrawals Ramping Up, Are Millennials And Gen X About To Be The Ultimate Bag Holders?

Every day, about 11,000 baby boomers hit retirement age in the U.S., and the wave of 401(k) withdrawals is starting to gain momentum. That has many younger investors wondering: who’s left holding the bag?

On Reddit’s r/stocks, one investor sparked a major debate with this post: “With ~11k Boomers retiring daily, and the 401k spigot about to go on full blast, can’t help but think how this transfer of wealth unfolds.”

They raised a concern about whether there will be enough new investment inflows from younger generations to match the outflows from boomers selling off their assets. “Ultimately, Millennials and Gen X … could be the remaining bag holders,” the poster suggested. At least, as they say, “those who were lucky enough to invest meaningfully in 401(k)s and taxable accounts.”

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But not everyone agrees with that framing.

“They’ve been retiring since 2011,” one person pointed out. “The stock market has done just fine so far.”

Another echoed that sentiment, saying, “There will always be people retiring. The Baby Boomers started retiring 17 years ago… Why are you so convinced [the market crash] is going to happen now, when nearly all of the Boomers that were capable of retiring already did?”

Several commenters emphasized that it’s not boomers broadly driving the market, it’s wealthy boomers. “Most 401(k) holders … are also the richest ones,” one person explained. “The ones being forced to liquidate and sell don’t have 401(k)s of a meaningful size. We’re fine unless the rich people are screwed.”

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Then there’s the question of where that money goes once boomers start drawing it down or pass it on. Some believe it simply recirculates. “All money comes back to the market one way or another,” one commenter wrote.

And inheritance is another piece of the puzzle. “Who do you think is going to inherit all that wealth?” one investor asked. Others noted that wealthy boomers often advise their kids to stay invested: “One even told his daughter, never sell this stock, just collect the dividends.”