Generations X and Y are doing a good job saving for retirement—better than their baby boomer parents—but the youth of Gen Z are still naïve about what it takes to retire, according to new survey findings released by TD Ameritrade on Tuesday.
Fully 59% of Gen X and 56% of Gen Y are making regular, automatic contributions toward their retirement goals compared with 46% of nonretired baby boomers, according to more than 4,000 participants in two online surveys by Head Research for TD Ameritrade.
Further, when it comes to getting a jump on setting aside a nest egg, younger generations are eager to get started, the surveys show. On average, both Gen X and Gen Y started saving for retirement in their mid to late 20s, nearly a decade earlier than baby boomers, who started saving at age 35.
As for the 13- to 22-year-olds of Generation Z, it remains to be seen whether having grown up in households hit by severe recession will taint them with a sense of doom and gloom or drive them to be better. More than half of Gen Z, or 56%, understand the importance of saving money, but conversations with their parents have been about saving in general or saving for college rather than preparing for retirement. Not surprisingly, considering their age, just 8% of Gen Z reported they are currently saving money for their golden years.
