[gregrata]

So it would be nice if they contrasted this again other generations - "About 66% of people between the ages of 21 and 32 have absolutely nothing saved for retirement". So? My impression is other generations at this age also hadn't exactly been saving a lot. Is this just saying the millennial general is just the same as others? Or way out wack?

[nostromo95]

Well, to be fair an equivalent statistic for baby boomers wouldn’t be as alarming as it is for millenials:

1. A higher percentage of the population back then were working towards a pension and didn’t necessarily have to save.

2. The long-term health of social security wasn’t as much in question back then. Contrast that to today’s conventional wisdom of “plan like your SS payout will be $0.”

And there are probably several other factors that suggest millenials should be more eager to save than their parents—rising costs of college for children, rising costs of end of life care, ever-increasing lifespans suggesting longer retirements, etc.

[ghaff]

>Contrast that to today’s conventional wisdom of “plan like your SS payout will be $0.”

In all fairness, people have been saying that for decades.

You're right though that a lot more people used to have defined-benefit pensions. I'll even have a modest one from a long gone tech employer. Certainly don't see that much these days.

[mikestew]

My impression is other generations at this age also hadn't exactly been saving a lot.

I would have fallen into that bucket when I was that age. Hey, I wasn't always a highly-paid software tech. I expect to retire comfortably with a couple million, and I didn't hit the startup lottery. (One or two that paid off very modest five figures, and late-90s MSFT options.) After a point, it's time to start putting some money away, and after 35 you can pull it off if you're aggressive. We haven't always maxed our 401Ks out, and missed other opportunities, and we'll still come out okay.

But that's for you tech bros and sis's making bank. I don't know what Mr. and Ms. Median-US-Wage are supposed to do.

[mrhappyunhappy]

Supposed to die quietly without disturbing others.

[cimmanom]

Previous generations were much less likely to have crippling student loans, for one thing. So they weren’t starting in the hole.

[knuththetruth]

It’s about 40% for Gen X and Boomers:

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2018/01/29/guess-how-many-ge...

[ghaff]

Which, if you're a Baby Boomer, is a rather more serious issue. It's one thing not to have saved much of anything for retirement in your 20s. It's another not to have saved anything by your 50s or--for that matter--if you're already retired.