Gen Z could be on track to become the richest generation in history—but for now, the cohort is struggling to pay off its credit card bills.

A September study examining the revolving cycle of credit card debt, conducted by debt settlement company Freedom Debt Relief, found that Gen Z leaned hardest on minimum-only payments, at 59%, while baby boomers did so the least, at 28%, against 50% of cardholders overall.

The distinction matters because paying only the minimum keeps a balance revolving month to month, with interest accruing on whatever goes unpaid—the very cycle the study set out to examine.

That behavior has taken a significant toll on mental health, according to the report: 51% of Gen Z feel embarrassed or ashamed of how much credit card debt they carry.

“The most common barrier was money, with 37% saying they didn’t earn enough to pay more than the minimum,” the study read. “But the reasons were more personal nearly as often: about 3 in 10 (30%) feel they should handle the debt on their own.”

Gen Zers are, of course, still in the early stages of their careers and have yet to enter their prime earnings years, which makes them more likely to have trouble managing their debt. Still, having dug a deep hole, the generation risks getting stuck—and it remains in the dark. Just 20% of Gen Z knew the exact interest rate on their credit card debt, the lowest of any generation and well below baby boomers. That knowledge gap is consequential, since a card’s rate determines how quickly a carried balance grows.

“Behind the balances is a cycle that is easy to fall into and hard to break alone,” the report read. “Many cardholders pay down what they owe only for it to climb again, and most carry that stress quietly.”

Caught Between Future Wealth and Present Debt

The findings reveal a tension at the heart of Gen Z’s economic outlook: the generation’s long-term financial prospects show promise, but its members must make do with what they have now to cover their bills.

Gen Z’s wealth could amass to $36 trillion by 2030 and $74 trillion by 2040, according to a 2025 Bank of America report.

The projections carry caveats, however. Much of the anticipated wealth accumulation depends on the “great wealth transfer” from older generations, and its distribution is uneven: certain households own substantial property and investment portfolios while others do not.

A 2024 report from asset and wealth management firm Cerulli Associates estimated that up to $124 trillion will be passed down from older generations to younger ones by 2048. More than half of that volume—about $62 trillion—is expected to come from those who are currently wealthy, who together make up only 2% of all households.

“Eventually, most of the wealth owned by older generations in the U.S. will be either donated or passed down to Gen X or Millennial heirs,” Chayce Horton, senior analyst at Cerulli, wrote in the report. “With $85 trillion to be passed down to these generations collectively, providers that can establish relationships with, and adequately address the needs of, these younger investors will be well positioned for success.”

The timeline gap is the crux: the credit card stress documented in the study is a present-tense problem, while every wealth figure attached to Gen Z’s future is projected for dates years or decades away.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.