Gay people earn more, owe less

They earn more, save more, have less debt and are better prepared for retirement, according to a Prudential survey of more than 1,000 LGBT respondents.

Respondents not only reported significantly higher annual incomes — $61,500 compared with the national median of $50,054 — but they also carried about $4,000 less in debt than the average American and had $6,000 more in household savings. They were even slightly more likely to have jobs in the first place, with an unemployment rate of 7% versus the national rate of 7.9%, Prudential found.

A combination of factors play into this, said Michele Meyer-Shipp, chief diversity officer at Prudential. To start, LGBT individuals are generally well-educated, with more than half of respondents receiving at least a bachelor’s degree, and tend to live in higher-income areas, she said.

“It flows down — you have a higher level of education, access to higher paying jobs in areas where there are good salaries, and more disposable income to allocate to things like saving and retirement,” Meyer-Shipp said.

Uncertainty about the future of gay rights likely also prompts many members of the LGBT community to be especially prudent with their money, Meyer-Shipp said.

Among their top financial concerns, respondents cited a lack of Social Security or pension survivor benefits, legislation that negatively affects LGBT finances and unfair tax treatment.

Thanks to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 1996 law that defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman, same-sex couples are barred from getting many of the same federal benefits that opposite-sex married couples receive, including survivor benefits and certain tax exemptions.  Read More