Anxiety fuels Gen Z's retirement planning
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Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Gen Z is investing in their retirement, but anxiety— not prudent financial planning — is often the motivator.
The big picture: Young workers have started their careers facing an unwelcoming job market, a student loan debt crisis, rising housing costs, and threats to Social Security. They're also tasked with securing a future that feels increasingly far away.
- "It's great that we're starting to see the youngest generation of workers starting to save earlier when they start working for the future and for retirement," Angela M. Antonelli, the executive director of Georgetown University's Center for Retirement Initiatives, says.
- "But I think that's probably driven by concerns about the future and what it looks like for them."
Case in point: "I think Gen Z, when we were kids, we had a dream of a reality that doesn't exist anymore," Leeah Marie Derenoncourt, 24, says.
- Derenoncourt, a digital nomad who works in public relations, says she contributes to her 401(k) and has a Roth IRA — but retirement still feels somewhat unachievable.
- "Even if I put most of my savings into these accounts, I don't expect that those accounts are going to be the reason I'm able to survive and retire later on," she says.
Zoom out: Workers between 18 and 24 are the least likely age group to report having quality jobs, according to a recent Gallup report. Financial well-being is one of the factors that define a quality job.
Between the lines: "Gen Z young workers need a reframing around retirement," Surya P. Kolluri, the head of the TIAA Institute, says.
- A gap in financial literacy, he says, was created when the onus shifted from company- or government-provided pensions to individuals managing their retirement savings.
- "A need arose for financial education, and I don't know that we have done a good job," he says.
Reality check: Things aren't necessarily dire for all young workers.
- 47% of Gen Z is on track for retirement — slightly outpacing millennials, Gen X and baby boomers, according to a November Vanguard report.
- Rachel Lemons, 21, has been contributing to a Roth IRA for about two years. The Northern Arizona University student says they were motivated by a financially conscious family to take "baby steps" for future financial freedom.
- "I have seen firsthand how my grandparents, my parents are working far past that general retirement age, partially because they want to and partially because they have to," they say.
The bottom line: Tim Moriarty, 24, and his friends frequently talk about the cost of living as they wonder how they'll support themselves and potential families down the line.
- Moriarty, a high school paraprofessional in Tinley Park, Illinois, is monitoring reforms to the state's pension system. He also regularly maxes out his Roth IRA.
- "I think you have to think about it because if you don't think about it, you don't want to be 60 years old and so far behind," he says. "But it's also kind of hard to plan for."
Go deeper: Gen Z is facing a job market double-whammy
