Millennials Bummed Over Social Security Prospects

A new study shows that millennials are worried about their retirement, especially their chances of ever collecting Social Security (SS). The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS) “18th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey” found that 80 percent of millennials are worried that Social Security will not be there for them when they are ready to retire.

However, they are not the only group with concerns: 83 percent of Generation X and 65 percent of baby boomers also have the same concern.

“Most workers are counting on Social Security as a meaningful source of income in retirement — and most are concerned about its future,” said Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of Transamerica Institute and TCRS, in a press release. “Reform is needed to mitigate Social Security’s funding shortfalls, but policymakers have made little progress in identifying and implementing specific changes. Workers need clarity and direction so they can plan accordingly.”

However, it’s interesting how, despite that fear, 84 percent of millennials, 81 percent of Gen X and 91 percent of baby boomers still expect SS to help fund their retirement. This could account for why only 18 percent of workers are “very” confident that they will be able to fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle, with Gen X being the least confident. The data shows that 55 percent of Gen X workers are somewhat or very confident about their chances of retiring comfortably, compared to 67 percent of millennial workers and 62 percent of baby boomer workers.

The lack of confidence could also be why the majority of workers (56 percent) plan to continue working in retirement, with 14 percent reporting that they plan to work full-time and 42 percent saying they will work part-time.

“American workers have seen gains in their retirement accounts over the past five years. The question is whether these gains are adequate for funding their retirement,” said Collinson. “All workers share many retirement-related risks. However, each demographic segment faces unique opportunities and challenges. By increasing an understanding of the commonalities and differences, we can identify solutions to help those in greatest need, and in turn, all workers.”