According to the generation theory proposed by Graeme Codrington & Sue Grant-Marshall, humans can be categorized into six generations based on their year of birth, namely traditionalists, baby boomers, generation X, millennials, generation Z, and alpha.

Aside from having different periods of birth year, each generation also has its own characteristics. These characteristics are usually influenced by the environment in which they were born and raised, such as the millennial generation born between 1981 and 1997.

Many experts think that millennials are the most financially ignorant generation, especially when it comes to matters relating to their financial future. Hence it comes as no surprise that most millennials are reluctant to invest.

The reluctance has its causes, however. Here are some of them:

 

Career during recession

Indonesia experienced a severe recession in 1998. It had a huge economic impact with a domino effect on top of that.

For example, when investments plummeted, companies suffered losses that resulted in the reduction of employees which led to layoffs. The millennials experienced this as they entered the working world during the recession.

As a result, they couldn’t get a proper career or decent salary. A lot of them relied on odd jobs with minimum income or even became unemployed.

 

Refusal of adulthood

After surviving the recession, many millennials managed to rise from financial slumps and became successful people. On the other hand, they also feel entitled to enjoy the results of hard work by having fun.

Having a young soul and a long career path ahead often become the reasons for delaying getting married, having kids, and even preparing a pension fund. Even more so as those three things cost a lot and require a huge commitment.

 

Financially illiterate

What makes the millennial generation feel reluctant to invest is not because they don't have enough money, but because they lack understanding and are lazy to find out what can be done to maximize their finances.

Many still think that having a large amount of savings is enough to enjoy old age peacefully. Whereas everyone needs to have savings, emergency funds, insurance, and investments.

That’s why it’s important to learn, understand, and stay updated on finance-related information. It’s not even difficult to get. Simply access the internet, attend seminars and workshops, or ask financial experts directly.

Now, if you belong to the millennial generation, it's never too late to change. First of all, try to improve your financial knowledge and insight, starting from how to prepare a financial plan to choose the right investment product.

To meet your investment needs, Sun Life Indonesia presents a variety of unit link insurance products that suit your financial capabilities. That way, you can achieve a bright financial future.