British millennials are facing a "generational pay penalty," according to a new report.
The report released on July 18 by the Resolution Foundation's Intergenerational Commission shows that those aged between 15 and 35 will typically spend £44,000 more on rent by the time of their 30th birthday than their parents who belong to the baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1965).
Millennials - born between 1981 and 2000, according to the report's definition - are expected to spend a total of £53,000 on rent before they reach 30. In contrast, baby boomers spent the equivalent of just £9,000 in today's money on rent.
"Fairness between the generations is something public policy has ignored for too long," David Willetts, executive chair of the Resolution Foundation said in a press release from the organisation.
"This is about taking seriously the social contract between the generations that underpins our society and state, and recognising that everyone is worried about the future of younger generations," Willetts added.
The report also suggested that millennials could be the first ever generation on record to earn less than the generation before them. It estimated that if millennial pay follows the same pattern as that of generation X, millennials will typically earn £825,000 in their lives, compared to generation X's £827,700 average.
"Generational inequality risks becoming a new inequality for our times, and nowhere is that clearer than on pay," Torsten Bell, director of the Resolution Foundation said in the same press release.
"We've taken it for granted that each generation will do much better than the last - earning more and enjoying a higher standard of living. But that approach risks looking complacent given the realities of recent years and prospects for the future," Bell added.
The Intergenerational Commission also said that baby boomers were 50% more likely to be homeowners at 30 than millennials.