Humble boomers horrified as study reveals how much Gen Z believe is a 'successful' salary

The average American considers a salary of just over $270,000 a year to be the benchmark for 'financially successful.' 

However, expectations of what constitutes being wealthy varies vastly from generation to generation. 

Boomers, those born before 1964, on the one hand think earning just under $100,000 makes an individual a financial success, according to a new study by Empower. 

At the other end of the scale Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, claim that only those that earn $588,000 or more are well-off or 'successful.'

'The average Gen Z worker makes $45,000, these people have lost their minds,' investor John Pompliano wrote on X in response to the findings. 

'I think this is the Instagram phenomena,' another user wrote on the platform. 

'They see Fake people being Fake successful on Instagram and set their expectations up there as well,' he explained. 

However, some commentators were more generous with the younger generation. 

'With inflation hitting hard, I can see why Gen Z would set such a high bar,' one wrote. 

'They have inflation trauma,' another agreed. 

'Americans believe success is about self-determination not a pre-determination, which is quite powerful,' Rebecca Rickert, head of communications at Empower said of the findings. 

Despite Gen Z's very ambitious targets for being 'financially successful,' 71 percent of respondents in that group said they expect to achieve that goal in their lifetime. 

Although many are unlikely to reach that earning potential, younger generations are set to inherit trillions of dollars in a great generational wealth transfer in the coming years.  

Baby Boomers are set to pass on $53 trillion to their children by 2045 in what experts have called the 'greatest wealth transfer in history.'

Boomers are famed for benefiting from great social mobility when house prices were low and labor conditions strong.

And now they are transferring their money to their less economically fortunate children.

Adults expecting to inherit in the next decade estimate they will receive over $700,000 on average. 

Research from life insurer New York Life last year found that that around 15 percent of the 4,437 adults surveyed expect to receive some of this wealth in the next decade. 

However questions are being raised over whether the younger generations can handle the windfall.

Of those who expect to inherit in the next ten years, only 21 percent of Millennials and 18 percent of Generation Z said they felt 'very comfortable' handling the funds. 

Suzanne Schmitt, head of financial wellness at New York Life, told Fortune at the time: 'Millennials, and now Gen Z, have grown up amidst global and financial turmoil.

'These two cohorts have witnessed economic changes in their formative years and may be more risk-averse when it comes to financial habits than their predecessors.'