This Is The Least-Reached Financial Milestone Across Every Generation, From Boomers To Gen Z

Many common financial milestones are changing life for the better, giving individuals and the people in their lives more security and expanded options for building wealth. But though the rate and age at which these milestones are reached varies between generations, there's one that relatively few people of any age group have attained: getting a life insurance policy. Yes, although life insurance is considered a fundamental tool for wealth transfer and building long-term financial security, it's the least-reached financial milestone across every core generation working and retiring today, from Gen Z all the way to baby boomers.

That's according to Motley Fool's 2026 Financial Firsts Survey, released in May 2026. Per the survey — which interviewed 2,000 American adults — an eye-popping 40% of baby boomers, 37% of Gen Xers, 48% of millennials, and 67% of Gen Zers had yet to purchase life insurance. The results are on par with a 2025 survey from Western and Southern Financial Group, which found that nearly half of American adults have no life insurance policy of any kind.

But is life insurance even a necessity? Relying on life insurance for retirement is generally a bad idea, but there is often still financial value. For example, cash value life insurance has a built-in investment or savings component, from which some policies will allow you to withdraw while you're still alive. However, the Federal Reserve's 2025 Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households found that only 25% of Americans have cash value in a life insurance policy.

Aside from life insurance being an elusive financial milestone across all ages, a surprising finding from Motley Fool's survey was how early the Gen Z cohort is getting signed up. Among those who do have policies, 70% signed up between the ages of 18 and 24. While Gen Z is younger, and the best age to get life insurance is in your 20s, such an early start stands out. Considering Gen Zers are pushing 30 as of 2026 and millennials peaked in enrollment between the ages of 25 and 34, it's possible that Gen Zers may not necessarily be getting policies because they view them as financially valuable, but rather because they come with their employer's benefits. Around 60% of non-federal workers have access to employer-sponsored life insurance (per 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data), with 98% participation.

Meanwhile, the 2025 Insurance Barometer Study from nonprofit associations LIMRA and Life Happens shows 20% of Gen Z saying they don't have life insurance because their employer doesn't offer it, outpacing the 14% of millennials and 9% of Gen X saying the same thing. Even so, the significant number of people without life insurance across each age group indicates the main reasons to go without are financial. Per the same study, the top reason across all age groups surveyed for not having more life insurance coverage, or any at all, was perceived cost, followed by other financial priorities.