US. Are Millennials Preparing For Retirement?
When we talk about retirement security, it’s usually older workers we have in mind. But what about millennials? People currently aged 23 to 39 now make up the largest portion of the U.S. labor force.
The future of retirement is, literally, the future of millennials. On the fifth and final (for now!) episode of my podcast Reset Retirement, we explored what’s next for American retirement.
For millennials, it’s a mixed bag. While their savings are less than ideal, thanks partly to the bad luck of entering the job market during a deep recession, they are not the profligate spendthrifts older generations make them out to be.
What remains to be seen is whether millennials will accept the commercialized, do-it-yourself nature of the current retirement system—or push for a system that protects everyone.
For the millennial perspective I spoke with Owen Davis, a 31-year-old research assistant and New School economics PhD candidate (and one of my students). Owen has personally experienced a wide range of workplace retirement benefits. As a public school teacher out of college, he contributed to a pension. Later, as a reporter, he saved into a 401(k). Now a grad student, his retirement savings are on hold.
Read more @Forbes
