Latinos today constitute 18 percent of the United States population – up from roughly one percent in the 1960s. Over the next 40 years, this demographic group will continue to grow and is projected to account for nearly 30 percent of the US population in 2060. This projected population surge has been the subject of much attention, particularly in the world of politics. What is not as well understood is what this rapid rise will mean for the state of household financial security.

The state of Latino financial security is complex. Hispanics are more likely to start businesses than other ethnic groups and do so at a rate two times the national average. 4 And Hispanic businesses are growing revenue 15 times faster than average.5 In others areas, like home ownership, the Great Recession had a particularly destructive impact, reversing decades of progress6 – though recent evidence indicates that the Hispanic homeownership rate is slowly starting to bounce back.7 In retirement preparedness – the subject of this brief – Latinos trail many of their white counterparts,8 a fact that will become painfully clear as more and more Hispanics, a community that currently skews young, begin to reach retirement age.