Millennials still lag in wealth accumulation, study finds

Millennials are catching up in the labor market, getting married and buying houses — but not saving enough to fund what are likely to be lengthy retirements.

That is the key takeaway from a report by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, which updates a report from 2016.

“They are saving for retirement at the rate of earlier generations, but student debt is a constant drag on their balance sheet,” the report concluded. “Millennials’ lack of wealth in their 30s relative to earlier cohorts should be a source of great concern, given that they will live longer than previous cohorts and will receive less support from Social Security.

The report noted that millennials entered the labor force in the wake of the bursting of the dot.com bubble and the Great Recession. They lagged behind other generations in terms of labor force participation, earnings and life milestones, the report said, but noted that they have caught up on virtually all measures except wealth.

“The reason for this wealth gap is student loans,” the report said.

[More: Millennials turn to professionals to get out from under college debt]