Millennials are now in their mid-twenties to early forties and are in the middle of their careers, families, and homeownership. That also means they may have their retirement funds in mind as well. Unfortunately, millennials have seen a lot of economic and financial turmoil in their lives. This has many of them wondering if they will ever retire.

And it isn’t just Millennials with retirement anxiety. According to the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, half of all Americans will not have enough money to maintain their standard of living even if they work until they are 65. This is an alarming trend, but for Millennials, 72% are worried about retirement. Unfortunately, this percentage is too high for the most educated generation.

There are a few reasons why.

The rising costs of living and healthcare combined with student debt have many Millennials struggling to be financially successful. This makes it increasingly difficult to plan on a successful retirement. Social security benefits will not affect Millennials and Gen X the same way as other generations. Full benefits don’t kick in until you are 67 years old. Very few have access to pensions. And 401(k)s are not accessible to everyone and can be put on the individual to start, making it easy to forgo or forget them. Longer life spans mean more money needs to be saved. It all feels very doom and gloom. 

So what can Millennials do about this? It feels almost insulting to say to start saving now, but it may be the best defense. While infrastructure improvements to expand and protect Social Security benefits and pension plans would be most helpful, it may be up to the Millennials to fend for themselves. It would also be a great start to have a seamless way to start a 401(k) with their employers and provide retirement savings access to everyone. It is not impossible to retire. But things could always improve.

Answers from AZ