In a recent nationwide survey conducted by TheStreet’s
MainStreet.com on Millennials, those born in the early-1980s to the 2000s, suggests
most have not taken any steps to plan for their retirement. It also found that
two-thirds of Millennials plan to retire by age 65, despite not having a retirement program in place.
The survey found that almost 70
percent of Millennials have not started to plan to save for retirement. Concerns
about the sustainability of Social Security likely account for a significantly
less proportion of Millennials than Baby Boomers (54 percent vs. 85 percent)
counting on Social Security as their primary source of retirement income.
With two-thirds of Millennials
planning to retire at 65, there may be a need for a change in mindset and
expectations. Given persistently high unemployment, a challenging job market
and the burden of student loans, their optimistic outlook is somewhat
surprising. A study found that Millennials say their financial situation is
better today than it was one year ago (57 percent vs. 48 percent of respondents
overall) and that they expect to be better off financially a year from now (67
percent vs. 46 percent).
Of Millennials who have started retirement
savings plans, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) report saving in
employee-sponsored retirement plans. A near equal percentage (63 percent) are
counting on bank savings accounts, money markets and CD plans as their primary
sources of retirement income. In comparison, 65 percent and 61 percent of
Boomers, respectively, cited those sources, far below the expectations for
Social Security.