Baby boomers have long been considered the wealthiest generation in history, having ridden the wave of post-war prosperity, rising home values, and booming stock markets. The collective wealth they hold is staggering, with estimates of the Great Wealth Transfer – the passing of assets from boomers to their children – reaching as high as $124 trillion. A recent analysis by Visa Business and Economic Insights pegs the figure at a more conservative $93 trillion, still roughly three times the entire U.S. economy. But for millennials and Gen Xers eagerly awaiting their inheritance, the reality will likely be a letdown.

Visa’s report draws a stark analogy: winning a lottery jackpot sounds amazing, but after choosing the lump sum, taxes, and fees, the take-home amount is dramatically smaller. The same principle applies here. The headline $93 trillion is not what heirs will pocket. Boomers carry significant debt, including mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, and borrowing against investments. Among homeowners aged 65 to 79, 41% still have mortgage debt, and 31% of those 80 and older do too. These liabilities, along with personal and business loans, eat into the wealth. After subtracting all debts, about $88 trillion remains.

But then the top 1% of boomer households hold a third of that – roughly $29 trillion. Excluding them leaves $60 trillion. Within that, the next 9% (the top 2% to 10%) own $44 trillion, meaning the bottom 90% of boomer households collectively hold only $16 trillion. And boomers will spend a significant portion of their wealth during retirement – around $16 trillion on housing, healthcare, food, and other essentials. Taxes further reduce the pool. That is how Visa arrives at a final inheritance figure of $36 trillion, translating to an average of $515,000 per inheriting household.

However, that average is deceptive. Most of the transferred wealth flows to families already in the upper echelons. Nearly 75% of inheritance recipients are in the top 2% to 10% of income. The next 40% (top 10% to 50%) account for about a quarter of recipients. The bottom half of the population receives a minuscule share. For the typical millennial or Gen Xer, the inheritance check will be much smaller than the headline suggests.

What does this mean for the economy? Visa estimates that of the $36 trillion transferred, $28 trillion will be saved or invested rather than spent. Only $8 trillion will go toward consumption. Given the massive size of the U.S. economy, that extra spending is expected to lift average annual real consumer spending growth by just 0.1 percentage point, from 2.0% to 2.1% over the next two decades. No consumer boom.

The good news is that boomers are not waiting until death to share their wealth. A trend called “giving while living” is gaining momentum. Skip-generation trips – grandparents traveling with grandchildren without the parents – are increasingly popular. Twenty-eight percent of grandparents have taken such a trip, and 35% plan to in the next three years. Down payment assistance is another major channel. About a quarter of millennial homeowners received help from their parents to buy their current home. Without that support, many would not have qualified for a mortgage or could afford a less expensive home.

Visa notes that this shift reflects a broader change: boomers are using their wealth now to help their children clear major financial hurdles, when the impact is greatest. Instead of waiting for a posthumous inheritance, they are providing support during life. This may soften the disappointment of a smaller eventual inheritance, but it does not change the underlying math. The Great Wealth Transfer is real, but it is far from the windfall many expect.