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The story
According to the Japan Financial Literacy and Education Corporation’s (J-FLEC) “2025 Public Opinion Survey on Household Financial Behavior,” the median savings for people in their 50s shows a stark divide: just ¥1.2 million for single-person households versus ¥7 million for households with two or more people. On 5ch’s News Express+ (Newsplus) thread, reactions ranged from shock — “Why would a single person have no savings?” — to pointed remarks about the gap between averages and medians. Users also debated how NISA investment assets are counted and how single people’s spending habits factor in.
(Excerpt)
Savings for people in their 40s to 70s: “What’s the difference between the average and the median?”
Let’s take a look at savings by age group, based on J-FLEC’s (Japan Financial Literacy and Education Corporation) “2025 Public Opinion Survey on Household Financial Behavior.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
A housemate isn't necessarily a wife or kids.
That's the difference between average and median for you.
Spent every day off at the pachinko parlor.
Exactly because they're single — they can party without worrying about the future.
I'm single too, but if you spend all your money having fun, no amount is ever enough.
Personally, I don't want a broke old age because I blew it all, so I hold back on having fun to some degree and put that money into building assets instead.
I got a late start, so at 29 I've only managed to save about ¥15 million.
NISA is widespread now too, so I'm jealous of the guys who had a guaranteed win from the start.
So the answer is: if you're single, live with your parents as long as possible.
Well, for people in rural areas, unless you're taking over the family business like farming, there just aren't many jobs to begin with, so that's tough too.
In the end it all comes down to the 'parent gacha' (the luck of which parents you're born to)…
No need to go crazy with investing either.
At that age, if you run things well with high-dividend stocks or government bonds, hitting tens of millions by retirement is a breeze.
Don't panic into momentum investing with leverage.
Even among the same Ice Age generation, though, people whose parents aren't well-off definitely have something to worry about.
Won't inheritance tax eat up a huge chunk of that?
Better start doing full inheritance tax planning now.
I'm 48, single, also Ice Age generation.
No inheritance from my parents either, but I got lucky and landed a stable job, so I've been able to save on my own.
Right now I've got about ¥39 million, and I expect to reach ¥200-300 million by retirement, so honestly I don't worry much about money in old age.
Interest rates are only going to keep rising from here, so it's not like savings amounts don't matter.
Individual growth stocks in NISA might actually be the most pointless choice lol
I wouldn't touch individual stocks.
I'm putting in an order for 'Orukan' (a nickname for the popular All-Country index fund) high-dividend tomorrow.
But rather than seriously saving like that, the smartest move is to party hard and just go on welfare in old age.
With the Ice Age generation about to flood in, I think welfare eligibility is only going to get stricter from here.
I don't know if you're serious or joking, but for just ¥60,000-70,000 a month plus a cramped rental and medical costs? Apparently you're basically required to have zero assets to qualify.
¥11.5 million in an online brokerage account, ¥4 million in bank savings.
There can't be many people more washed-up than me (*´Д`)
I'd guess most people in this thread actually have less than you.
All I've got is negative net worth.
I'm in a similar boat, but honestly, past 40, even if you had friends, would a trip with a bunch of middle-aged guys actually be fun? I have my doubts.
Everyone around you is families and couples, and hanging out loud with other middle-aged guys just left me feeling hollow.
Bouncing between temp jobs like me, living off unemployment insurance, and reluctantly going back to work once the money runs out — repeating that cycle, ¥1.2 million actually feels like a scarily realistic number lol
If you're planning to go on welfare, it's actually smoother if you have no savings at all.
With not much time left before old age, that might be the play.
Counting on welfare going forward is going to land you in hell.
Your neighbors will find out you're on welfare, you know.
Once a month a car with '[City Name] Welfare Division' written on it shows up lol
Or rather, I just can't understand the idea that having money makes you feel secure.
Once things run out, you end up saying money isn't necessary at all.
That's why things like fine kimono fabric got bartered for food — that was just normal right after the war ended, right after Japan's defeat.
So money doesn't guarantee anything.
Sure, there's no guarantee, but with only ¥1.2 million, you never know what trouble life might throw at you. When money worries pile up too, that's genuinely rough on your mental health.
A famous Chaplin quote.
'What we need is courage, imagination… and a little bit of money (some money).'
Even if it's just a little, you still need money after all.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
This figure comes from the annual “Public Opinion Survey on Household Financial Behavior” conducted by the Japan Financial Literacy and Education Corporation (J-FLEC), and the key point is that it tallies single-person households separately from households with two or more people. Where opinions in the thread diverged was mainly over how to interpret the average versus the median. A wealthy minority tends to pull the average upward, while the median stays closer to the reality of a typical household. The reason the median is low for single-person households is that they rely on a single income source, whereas households with two or more people tend to see the number inflated by dual incomes and combined assets. It’s also worth noting that what counts as “savings” varies by survey, and the median can shift depending on the type of deposit and the age breakdown, so comparing living standards across generations or household types on face value alone should be done with caution.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “Median Savings for People in Their 50s: ¥1.2 Million for Singles, ¥7 Million for Two-or-More-Person Households — Comparing Savings by “Household Type” for Ages 40 to 70.”
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