Millennials say they would need a yearly salary of around £420,000 to be happy

It turns out money can buy happiness.

In a new survey by financial firm Empower, 2,034 Americans were asked how much they would like to earn from their job to make them content.

Millennials were found to be asking for the highest salary, demanding they need to make £420,000 a year.

That’s way more than a few smashed avocados.

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However, it's unsurprising that millennials listed the highest salary, as research shows they have made more than previous generations.

According to Vice, an analysis by economics blogger Kevin Drum noted that the average millennial earns 25 per cent more by age 40 than boomers did when you consider inflation.

Empower’s survey also showed that Gen Z marked their yearly salary to be around £282,000 in order to make them happy.

Funnily enough, Gen X say they need a slightly higher income, around £286,000, to be content and live a comfortable lifestyle, while boomers said they’d need to earn around £273,000.

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Seventy-one per cent of surveyed participants also said ‘having more money would solve most of their problems’, with 59 per cent of Americans saying that ‘money can buy happiness’.

Around 44 per cent of participants, including 58 per cent of Gen Z and 55 per cent of millennials and Gen X, said 'financial happiness means having a good work/life balance'.

When it comes to retirement, Gen Z plans to retire the soonest of all generations, at age 54, while the majority of participants expect they’ll retire from the mid-60s onwards.

However, research shows the younger generation is taking a more relaxed approach to retiring, with ‘soft-saving’ becoming the trend, as per a recent Prosperity Index study by Intuit.

The study also found that Gen Z is hesitant to set up long-term financial goals, and the majority said they might be unable to retire.

And they’re not willing to cut costs either, as 73 per cent said they’d rather have a better quality of life than extra pennies in the bank.

Topics: News, Money

Charisa Bossinakis

Charisa Bossinakis is an Associative Journalist at LADbible. Charisa has worked across various media platforms including, print, digital, radio and podcasting while maintaining the highest regard for quality work and integrity. She also covered everything from breaking news, to pop culture, entertainment and politics and is part of the editorial team for LADbible.

@CBossinakis