A $36T Great Wealth Transfer is coming — but not everyone will score a payday. How to make a modest inheritance count

After accounting for taxes, baby boomer retirement spending and other factors, a July Visa Business and Economic Insights report estimates that "$36 trillion will pass to younger generations over the next 20 years, equivalent to roughly $515,000 per inheriting household (1)."

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But there's a caveat: "these transfers will be highly uneven."

In fact, the report says that "nearly 75% of those benefiting from the wealth transfer already have a higher net worth." In other words, it's the rich passing down to the rich. Conversely, baby boomers who still carry mortgage, consumer and loan debt "have far less financial flexibility — and potentially less wealth to pass on."

The good news, however, is that financial experts tell Moneywise that there are ways to make even a small inheritance pay off in the long term.

"While a smaller inheritance may not feel life-changing at first, it can still make a meaningful difference when it's used intentionally," Jessica Nino, a financial advisor with Edward Jones, told Moneywise. "Even a few thousand dollars invested thoughtfully and allowed to grow over many years can have a much larger impact than people might expect."

The idea that the Great Wealth Transfer will largely concentrate among the already affluent is not entirely surprising.

A 2024 Congressional Budget Office study found that, between 1989 and 2022, "family wealth was unevenly distributed, and that inequality increased (2)." Families in the top 10%, they reported, "held 60% of all wealth," while everyone below them held 39%.

Breaking it down further, the American Society on Aging pointed to Federal Reserve data that shows that white households control more than 80% of the wealth in America, while only 3.3% is held by Black households (3). As such, they add, "the trillions of dollars now set to pass between generations will replicate, rather than dismantle existing hierarchies" and a racial wealth divide (4).

For those expecting an inheritance, Northwestern Mutual chief strategy officer Jeff Sippel spoke of the Great Wealth Transfer in a June report and explained that "fewer than 1 in 3 Americans plan to leave an inheritance behind, and the average inheritance is below $50,000" (5)."

The same report also found that more than half of millennials and a third of Gen Xers still need financial support from their parents — echoing the Visa study's finding that "more than half of individuals expecting to receive an inheritance say it is critical to their long-term financial security, including the ability to purchase a home (6)."

Still, there are bright spots on the horizon. First, the Visa report found that more than a quarter of boomers are already sharing their wealth with their kids and grandkids while they're still alive, from helping them with housing down payments to treating them to vacations (7).

And second, strategies exist to maximize even a modest inheritance.

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Multiple financial experts told Moneywise how you can make a smaller inheritance — between $1,000 and $10,000 — count.