Millennials most optimistic about finances, post-COVID-19 future: UOB

More than half believe they will be financially stable in 12 months; only 13% of Baby Boomers said the same.

Millennials have emerged as the most optimistic age group in Singapore when it comes to overcoming current challenges, according to the UOB Optimism Index.

The index, which surveyed 1,000 Singaporeans, measures how concerned consumers are about rising COVID-19 infections, continued restrictions on gatherings and travel, the economic impact of the pandemic, and their personal financial well-being and outlook.

Out of a maximum score of 100, Millennials scored 54.7, ahead of Generation Z’s 52.5, Generation X’s 51.0, and Baby Boomers’ 50.6.

Amongst age groups, Millennials are reportedly the most confident of their financial standing and are more likely to believe that they will be financially better off in a year’s time.

They are also most optimistic about life going back to the way it was before and that a vaccine will be developed, the study found. Millennials led other age groups in believing that a vaccine will be available in the next 12 months, at 53%. In comparison, 47% of the Baby Boomers echoed the same sentiment.

Millennials again emerged the most optimistic when it comes to the question of whether life can go back to pre-pandemic in the next 12 months. More than two in three millennials or 61% indicated their belief of this. Meanwhile, 53% of Baby Boomers said the same.

Again, in forecasting their personal financial well-being, more than half or 52% of Millennials said that they are likely to be financially better off in a year’s time, versus 47% of Generation Z and 34% of Generation X. Just over one in ten or 13% of Baby Boomers echoed the same.

Millennials are also least worried about losing their jobs or being able to afford essentials, UOB added.

This confidence in their future has pushed Millennials to be more active in investing during the pandemic, with one in three saying they have increased their investments and two in five planning to do so in the next six months.

Amongst UOB’s wealth customers, Millennials reported had 30% more assets under management (AUM) at the end of June 2020 than they did three years before – a substantially larger increase compared with wealth customers from other age groups.

“The UOB Optimism Index shows Millennials in Singapore have a rosier outlook than other generations and provide a burst of positivity amid the everyday struggles people are experiencing,” said Jacquelyn Tan, head of group personal financial services, UOB.

She further noted that the UOB Optimism Index also shows that Baby Boomers in general are more concerned about their finances given their shorter horizons and the higher likelihood their investments or retirement savings will be impacted by near-term market fluctuations and low interest rates.

Across the region, Singapore ranked in the middle on the UOB Optimism Index with a score of 52.7, behind Vietnam (62.4) and Malaysia (53.8) but ahead of Thailand (52) and Indonesia (49.6).

Although falling in the middle, Singapore came out ahead of its ASEAN neighbours on several measures. For example, about eight in 10 Singapore respondents anticipates that within 18 months, international travel will resume, and that the COVID-19 will be contained domestically – higher than in other markets.

More Singapore respondents also expect a vaccine to be developed in the next 18 months.

UOB partly attributed this optimism to the government’s ‘circuit breaker’ measures that halted a rapid spread of cases in the community.

Meanwhile in Vietnam—which was relatively successful in keeping its number of confirmed COVID-19 cases low—eight in 10 respondents expect that life will go back to the way it was within 18 months, versus the survey average of six in 10 respondents.

Looking ahead to a possible economic recovery in 2021, seven in 10 respondents in Vietnam also believe they will be financially better off in a year’s time, compared with the average of four to six in 10 among all respondents.

The UOB Optimism Index is part of the bank’s inaugural ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study, launched in July, that aims to provide a better understanding of ASEAN consumers. UOB interviewed more than 3,500 respondents acrosss five ASEAN countries, including 1,000 from Singapore and more than 600 each from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.