Retirement planning for millennials By Colin Nass, CFP ®, AEP ®, RICP ®
When discussing the need for retirement planning, millennials might not be the first age group that comes to mind. Millennials — also known as Generation Y — were born after 1980, and they’re the first generation to come of age in the new millennium. Typically, researchers use the early 1980s as the years when the first millennials were born and the mid1990s to 2000 to mark their ending birth years. In 2016, the Pew Research Center found that millennials have surpassed baby boomers to become the largest living generation in the United States. This is important to note as we discuss retirement planning for millennials. Retirement planning is basically the same for all generations; it refers to the planning one does to prepare for life after paid work ends — not just financially, but generally. The non-financial aspects include lifestyle choices, such as how to spend your time in retirement, where to live, and when to stop working completely. The emphasis on retirement planning changes throughout different life stages. For millennials, or those beginning their working lives, retirement planning is about getting an early start on saving for retirement. Even though research has shown that millennials are joining the workforce during a tough economic time, they’ve remained optimistic. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center shows roughly nine in 10 millennials believe they have enough money, or that they will eventually reach their long-term financial goals. 20
CHURCH EXECUTIVE • July / August 2017
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