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April 18, 2016 at 12:15 PM
Advisors take note: Millennials foresee their retirement — including the decision on when to retire — differently than older generations, Merrill Edge reported Monday.
Forty-one percent of millennials surveyed said they expected to retire when they reached a certain financial milestone or savings goal, compared with 29% of Gen X and 18% of boomer respondents. Twenty-nine percent of millennials also said they would retire at a certain point in their career.
In contrast, 35% of boomers in the poll said expected to retire when they hit a certain age, compared with 28% of millennials, and 33% of boomers and Gen Xers said they would retire when health concerns rendered them unable to work, compared with 25% of millennials.
The telephone survey, conducted from Feb. 12 through March 1, comprised 1,003 respondents throughout the U.S. who had $20,000 to $250,000 in investable assets.
Fifty-three percent of millennials saw retirement as a new beginning, with 21% of these likely to pursue a passion, seek additional education or start or grow a business as their main retirement priority.
Millennials in the survey were also thinking about their financial future as the 2016 presidential election approaches. Forty-seven percent expected the outcome of voting to positively affect their long-term financial goals, compared with 34% of Gen Xers and 26% of boomers.
“It’s refreshing to see the mindset around retirement evolve, particularly a strong optimism and a goal-oriented approach from younger generations,” Aron Levine, head of Merrill Edge at Bank of America, said in a statement.
“This focus is a great start, but one of the keys to a successful retirement is to ensure savings are prioritized early and often. Year over year, we continue to see today’s non-retirees struggle with the impact short-term spending has on their long-term financial future.”
Not Enough Savings
Merrill Edge reported that 48% of Americans expressed the most insecurity about some aspect of their financial future, retirement savings or income. Retirement savings was the chief concern of 21% of respondents, way ahead of personal relationships, judgment of others and career path.
