(July 24, 2024; East Hanover, NJ) — New research shows that millennials (born between 1981-1996) may be on track to surpass their elders when it comes to at least one important category – saving for retirement.
“While this group may have faced uphill struggles that hurt their chances of achieving traditionally defined financial success – buying a home, having a family, or working for the same employer for several decades – research shows, and we see this among our millennial clients, that this generation seems on track to equal or surpass their elders when it comes to saving for retirement,” says Leo Chubinishvili, CFP, with the wealth management firm Access Wealth in East Hanover, NJ. “Many save at earlier ages that their elders, and already have retirement accounts that are on track for a relatively secure retirement.”
Many millennials came of age just as the dot-com bubble and the Great Recession of 2008-2009 wrecked the economy — and their chances of finding a good job. On top of that, college education costs were soaring at unprecedented rates, saddling many with huge piles of student debt. The average millennial, now 28 to 43 years old, carries a student loan debt of about $33,000. That puts a big dent in their net worth. Add to this the exorbitant cost of child care.
Yet, Mr. Chubinishvili says he sees that many of his young clients, and the research bears this out, have developed a cautious approach to spending with a heightened emphasis on financial security. Additionally, with 401(k) and other retirement plans now the default option for many employers – meaning you have to opt-out if you don’t want to contribute money from your paycheck to a retirement account – a pattern of saving from one’s first day on the job has been set.
Not everything is so rosy though, he adds. “Millennials are likely to face much longer periods of retirement as life expectancy rises, and there remains uncertainty about whether the Social Security safety net will still be in place decades from now,” he warns. “Yet, millennials seem to be off to a good start.”
Let me know if you’d like to speak with him about what he sees among this generation in terms of retirement savings and the advice he gives them. Pls contact: Steve Clark, Andover Communications, 201-575-9179, SClark@AndovercCommunications.com
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