(WASHINGTON) — Young Americans are waiting longer to get married than previous generations but the big question is why?
Ask older millennials, those aged 25 to 34, why they’ve put off tying the knot and a third will say it has to do with feeling a lack of financial security, according to a Pew Research Center poll. However, just a fifth of people over 35 cite that as their reason for not walking down the aisle.
Are millennials that insecure about their earning power now and in the future? Partly. Some experts, including Jeff Cruttenden, chief operating officer with Acorns, say their reluctance to get hitched may have a lot to do with how their parents might have struggled financially during the Great Recession.
Yet, their fears may be somewhat exaggerated since studies have shown that young people in marital relationships tend to have an easier time staying afloat financially when there are two incomes in the household rather than one.
Be that as it may, members of the millennial generation, more so than others, will be less inclined to get married. It’s estimated that by the time they reach their 40s or 50s, one in four millennials will have never taken the marital plunge.
Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.