A majority of working Americans say it will be harder for them to retire comfortably than it was for their parents' generation, even as today's retirees also struggle with tough economic times.
82% of respondents to CNBC's August 2024 Your Money Exit Survey “Living a comfortable retirement is much more difficult, or perhaps somewhat more difficult, than it was for our parents' generation,” the media outlet said. Reported Wednesday.
Four in 10 American workers say they have delayed saving for retirement, primarily because they have debt, don't make enough money, or started saving later in their careers.
More than half of workers (52%) said they plan to continue working “in some capacity” after retirement.
Jake Loeberg, a Gen Z media planner based in Fargo, North Dakota, told CNBC that it's tough to balance spending money on your social life with saving for the future.
“I've always been someone who lives in the moment and takes it one day at a time, so I usually end up saying, 'Fuck it,' and booking a trip on a whim,” the 23-year-old says. “But I also know it's not something I can do on a regular basis, so I'm still working on finding that balance.”
Though Robberg is still decades away from retirement, it's something he's been thinking about more and more as he watches his parents approach that age.
The company where Mr. Loberg's father worked for many years had a stock-ownership plan for employees that helped them save for retirement at the end of their careers, and Mr. Loberg said his parents plan to buy a lake house in Minnesota and spend their time traveling.
“The chances that I'll be able to save anywhere near what my dad has saved in his ESOP in my 401(k) and Roth IRA are pretty slim,” the young professional said.
He tries to stay optimistic and make smart choices, but also prioritizes life outside of work.
“I'm doing everything I can now to set myself up for future success, but if things change, I have to deal with things as they come up,” Lowberg added. “My job and finances are the most important things to me, but I'm also happy in many other areas of my life.”
Even young people with very high salaries “still feel like they can't get ahead because of high health care and housing costs and things like that,” Catherine Fox, financial planner and founder of Sunnybranch Wealth, told the outlet.
“A lot of the advice older people give about how to save money is completely unrelated to reality and I think it's actually quite harmful because it makes people feel very defeated,” she explained.
While many younger people are struggling with the reality that they are less well off than their parents, the CNBC survey also found that many of today's retirees are already struggling badly.
While the majority of retired respondents said their retirement life had at least met their expectations, one in five (21%) said they had no savings at all for retirement.
More than half (56%) were concerned that their savings would not last beyond retirement.
Fox advised seniors to take advantage of “creative ways to weather the rising cost of living,” such as moving to lower-cost areas.
Surveys show that roughly one in three retirees is already doing this.
Despite these efforts and more rigorous savings in young adulthood compared to many Gen Zers, the poll found that “nearly all retirees rely on Social Security benefits.”
