Retirement may be a long ways off for them, but Millennials are more stressed about it than other generational groups — and counting on assistance from loved ones if they do need financial help.
In fact, more than four in 10 (43%) Millennials who participated in a recent study say they are counting on assistance from loved ones if financial help is needed in retirement, which is significantly higher than the 9% of all other respondents combined. According to the Spring 2015 Merrill Edge report, Millennials (67%) and Gen Xers (74%) are the most likely demographic groups to predict financial stress in retirement, based on how they’re saving now. Contrast that with the 59% of current retirees who say they are not stressed about finances because of how they saved.
According to the survey, Millennials also have a different vision of how they plan to spend their retirement: Two-thirds (66%) say that their ideal retirement includes traveling often, and more than half (54%) say the same about living near loved ones. That’s slightly more than older respondents (Gen X, Boomers and seniors) who say their ideal retirement includes traveling often (62%) and living near loved ones (46%).
More than one-quarter (27%) of Millennials say they use websites and apps to manage funds in an attempt to have a more stress-free retirement, compared to 16% of Gen Xers, 11% of Boomers and 5% of seniors.
Less than one-quarter (24%) of those who have yet to reach retirement are working with a financial advisor to reduce retirement anxiety, while a significantly higher amount of retirees (38%) said they worked with an advisor to achieve that same goal before retiring.
Stress Points
Respondents are most likely to feel that stress would be placed on their finances by:
• unexpected health care costs (65%)
• lack of Social Security funds (38%)
• taking a loan from a 401(k) account (25%)
Generationally, more seniors (77%) and Baby Boomers (66%) agree that unexpected health care costs would put stress on their finances, in comparison to 55% of Gen Xers and half (50%) of Millennials.
Among those not yet retired, nearly half (49%) plan to work in retirement to get financial help during this time, and 28% plan to rely on help from the government for the same reason.
Just one-in-five (20%) of retired respondents plan to work in their golden years to receive financial assistance, while 41% say they currently rely on the government for financial help in their retirement.
