Great disappointment will follow the Great Wealth Transfer as baby boomers pass on just a fraction of their fortune to millennials and Gen Xers

Baby boomers are sitting on immense wealth after benefiting from a historic era of economic growth and financial gains, but heirs shouldn’t get their hopes up too much.

Estimates of the so-called Great Wealth Transfer vary, reaching as high as $124 trillion. A report last month from Visa Business and Economic Insights put the number at a more modest $93 trillion, though that’s still three times the size of U.S. GDP.

But millennials and Gen Xers with great expectations for inheriting that wealth may be setting themselves up for great disappointment. Visa likened it to winning the lottery, then seeing the eventual check whittled down drastically.

“You hit the jackpot, but you immediately lose half by—smartly—taking the lump sum,” the report said. “Next, you lose another 30–40% through taxes and fees. The advertised jackpot is enormous, but after the lump-sum haircut, taxes and fees, the take‑home number is much lower. A similar dynamic applies to the great wealth transfer.” 

For the Great Wealth Transfer, Visa calculated that boomers will pass on $36 trillion of their $93 trillion in wealth, translating to ...