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Data & Research September 26, 2017
Financial Struggles Overshadow Millennials' Retirement Savings Confidence
Despite confidence in their level of retirement savings, 46% of Millennials surveyed indicate they have a significant amount of debt, and 43% report they cannot afford to pay for their health care.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
Nearly six in 10 Millennials (58%) surveyed by Wells Fargo say they are saving enough for retirement.
However, men are significantly more sure about that (68%) than women (50%).
Despite this level of confidence, Millennials in the study were asked to rate areas of satisfaction in their lives, and the fewest were satisfied with their “financial life” (among eight categories). Only 32% of Millennials say they are satisfied, rating it a 6 or 7 on a 7-point scale. Forty-six percent of all Millennials indicate they have a significant amount of debt. More non-affluent Millennials (50%) said that than affluent Millennials (35%).
In addition, 43% of Millennials report they cannot afford to pay for their health care (35% of affluent Millennials and 46% of non-affluent), and 42% say they rely regularly on others, such as their family a spouse or friends, for financial support (44% affluent, 40% non-affluent).
“Millennials are facing significant debt and say their financial life is generally not satisfying. Money is probably the area they don’t want to grapple with. Yet if we can change this mindset and expand the population of Millennials who engage with their money, they will reap the rewards of greater happiness, and at the same time, put themselves on better financial footing. Taking a more proactive stance with money is not necessarily dependent on having more money. Millennials should start to engage as soon as they start earning money and employers and financial service firms can help push this effort forward,” says Kristi Mitchem, CEO of Wells Fargo Asset Management.
But, financial pressures are not all Millennials are grappling with. The research found 41% say they have “reduced investments” in the stock market because of the effects of the Great Recession. This fear of the market can hurt Millennials’ retirement savings.
Seventeen percent of Millennials are not currently invested in the market but “plan to in the future,” the survey found. Twenty percent are not currently invested in the market and “never plan to be,” and 53% say they will “never be comfortable investing in the market.”
For more information about the study, visit www.wellsfargofunds.com/generations.