As time moves onward, a lot of the retirement conversation has shifted. Many discussions no longer revolve around you Baby Boomers. Now, the eyes are on the younger investors, your children. They say hindsight is 20/20, and it seems that many of the twentysomethings have seen the retirement struggles of their parents’ generation all too clearly.
A study recently released from Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and Aegon, The Changing Face of Retirement: The Young, Pragmatic, and Penniless Generation gets an inside look. This study focused on the retirement planning attitudes of twentysomethings in the U.S. and worldwide. The results were good and bad, but ultimately hopeful.
The good news: Most twentysomethings in the workplace are taking proactive approach to their retirement planning.
Over two-thirds of people between ages 20-29 are either currently saving, or want to save for their retirement future and well over half believe that retirement savings is a must. They understand the big picture of their retirement future, and are taking ownership of that responsibility earlier than most generations we’ve seen in the past.
The bad news: They will be facing an uphill battle, and they know it.
Despite how committed the group is to their retirement future, they don’t have a whole lot of confidence that they will succeed. Over half of people in their 20’s expect to be worse off in retirement than their parents, and they expect to have less help from programs like Social Security or employee funded programs. Because of this, a large portion believes that they will not be able to choose when to retire, and when they are able to leave the workforce, expect to have just half of what they planned for in terms of their retirement savings.
The hopeful news: They want help!
This doesn’t mean they want help in the form of handouts (actually, almost a quarter plan to be the ones providing support to their parents). What they want is help in the form of knowledge and education. Nearly half of the twentysomethings admitted not knowing if they were on the right track with their retirement plans. A quarter of all participants noted that what they really needed for success with their retirement plans is access to a personal advisor with personal recommendations. Another quarter noted that they would like to speak with an advisor to better understand the options available for their retirement.
Despite the mixed reviews of retirement planning through the eyes of those young investors, the results are clear. When it comes to their financial futures, they know three important things: it is important, it is not going to be easy, and they don’t have to go it alone.
Whether you are watching your kids approach or age through that decade, make sure they are planning for their future and are on the right track with those plans. They can’t win the retirement planning race in the first few years, but they certainly can lose it. Call us today and to set up a free consultation to help them find their path to success earlier, rather than later.
Authored by Financial Social Media (financialsocialmedia.com)