As millennials move further into adulthood, we find ourselves at the center of yet another norm-defying trend – fewer of us are entering into marriage than any generation before.
Roughly a quarter of today’s young adults are unlikely to tie the knot by the time they reach their mid-40s and mid-50s, according to the Pew Research Center. The reasons are myriad, but two main factors are at play. For some, it’s a lack of financial security. (Remember, many of us came of age professionally in the midst of the Great Recession.) For others, it’s a growing disinterest in the institution of marriage itself.
As a single, 31-year-old woman with a skeptical attitude toward matrimony, I can get on board with those hesitations. I’m not sure I want children, and the option of pursuing life on my own terms is a value I hold dear. But in the long run, what are the implications of joining this shifting trend line?
Growing up, I considered myself the daughter of two women – my mother and my aunt, who had no spouse or children of her own. The stigma of singlehood was mostly lost on my aunt, whose life was rich with travel, fantastic stories, shelves full of books, and more deep, enduring friendships than I can count on both hands. She set the stage for me.
But there’s an economic downside to carving a life outside the bounds of marriage, thanks to rules the government has laid out to favor married folks. Here are a few: