652

Of all generational cohorts, older millennials are most likely to generate enough income to retire comfortably, according to the latest Vanguard Retirement Readiness report.

Specifically, millennials aged 37-41 have the greatest chance of landing a comfortable retirement.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] worldwidewave@lemmy.world 68 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Vanguard assesses retirement readiness assuming your post-employment income should match around 68% of your annual salary.

Millennials in the 70th percentile of earners are the only demographic on track to come anywhere close to that coveted ratio. Early millennials are expected to hit 66% of their annual salary at retirement, while Gen X lags at 53% and late baby boomers at 51%.

Yay, wealthier Millennials? Way to grind that 401K

[-] stolid_agnostic@lemmy.ml 42 points 1 year ago

That was my take away. If you earn a lot of money you can fund a good retirement.

The only other real argument I found was that millennials in general may be better off because they entered the workplace when these retirement plans activate automatically whereas boomers and gen x had to actively sign up for them.

[-] agitatedpotato@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Your retirement plan activated automatically?

[-] scytale@lemm.ee 16 points 1 year ago

I think what they meant was 401k enrollment is now included in new employee onboarding by default in most places now.

[-] agitatedpotato@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago

Ive still never had that, Im over 30 and the only retirement account I have I made myself outside of work.

[-] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago

My employers 401k plan was automatic. Let it sit for 3 years and came on hard times around 2021. I actually lost ~15% of the money I put in. Cashed it out, opted out of automatic contributions and haven't looked back. I don't need some investment firm to lose my money for me, I'm already good at that on my own lol

[-] AA5B@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Please revisit. That’s usually a bad idea. Yes, aggressive investments can lose money in short terms like one year or less - actually there was a long term piece of advice to not invest in stocks any money you need for the next five years. However prudent investments, like an SP500 index fund , have always increased in value in like ten year periods, and over some similar period have always beaten inflation

There’s a lot to learn about investments, but

  • it’s your only realistic path to fund retirement
  • the magic of compounding is your best friend
  • 401k contributions and returns are tax deferred until retirement
  • many 401ks have additional corporate contributions - free money

401k’s can be VERY useful to most of us over the long term, so you should reconsider whether it’s good for your situation too

[-] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

If I had the funds to invest, I would probably have a Roth IRA or something simple but the hard times never let up. I work 60 hour weeks and still live paycheck to paycheck. I've only earned enough in the last couple of months for me to get health insurance again. I can't afford to give even 3% of my paycheck away (the minimum for my company to begin matching) at the moment and that's not likely to change in the next year or two.

I really do appreciate the concern and if I were in a different place, I'd reconsider. I was being a bit bitter and sarcastic in my comment but I'm in no.position to save any money

[-] capital@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You sold when it was 15% down? And outside of retirement?

For the love of god, don’t touch your retirement savings. Consider reading this series:

https://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/

[-] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

I needed what little was in that account because my car shit the bed on me and the repairs were more than the car was worth. Had to take that and my stimulus check to buy another beater. I'm still paycheck to paycheck and couldn't afford to start my savings back up if I wanted to

[-] capital@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I see. I’m sorry about your situation.

[-] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

All good! I appreciate the advice, genuinely

[-] MeanEYE@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Let me guess, you are in USA? Only there you'd be so car-dependent.

[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

You don't trust the pieces of shit my taxdollars bailed out in 2009? Why don't you trust those peices of fucking shit?

[-] capital@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Staying out of the stock market will ensure you won’t have enough to retire on.

[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago
[-] capital@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Oof. By the time you learn you were wrong, it’ll be too late.

[-] stolid_agnostic@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Actually it's required if you're over the age of 30. Below that age, you can delay it. Once you hit 50, the percentage input increases significantly. I work as a state employee so it's different than in private sector.

I think that even corporations are just enrolling people though too.

[-] bluGill@kbin.social -1 points 1 year ago

It has always been that way. More millennials than any previous generation are able to fund a good retirement is a large take away.

Many still are not funding a [good] retirement, but overall Millennials are better than their predecessors.

[-] WalrusDragonOnABike@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago

Weird to determine retirement spending based on annual income instead of annual spending. Like, if someone is only spending 40% of their income now, why would they assume they are going to increase their spending by 65% when they retire? Or otoh, if someone is spending 95-110% of their income now and that's mostly housing and food, why would they only need 68% when they retire (especially if they're accumulating debt)? I'm sure its mostly a result of that data being a lot easier to get and may be using assumptions about how many years someone is working and assumed savings rate required to get that amount of money (heuristics like if you have a constant inflation-adjusted income and save 30%, it takes about 30 years to save enough to retire)?

70th percentile is only ~$120K/year. A lot more than I make, but not exactly what I'd be using "wealthier" to describe, even if just as a comparative. Even at like 90th percentile (~220K/year) would still just be in the "well off" category in my mind.

[-] bluGill@kbin.social -1 points 1 year ago

People tend to spend what they earn. I have to be careful not to spend more than my paycheck every month. I know people who make less than half what I do who still do okay in life - they don't have as nice a house or as many toys, but they have food on the table and a warm roof. I know from experience that I could cut how much I spend every month by a lot - I just don't want to cut those extras from my life.

Many people are working long hours now saving for retirement when they plan to travel, and thus they think their spending will be more in the future. I know some who did that for years, and got cancer and died before their planned retirement age. I know others who have been traveling the world carefree for a couple decades after retiring.

[-] RaoulDook@lemmy.world -3 points 1 year ago

They should be investing in a Roth account instead of standard 401k if possible. Unless you're sure that income taxes will be lower when you need to take out that money. Roth investing pays the tax up front, and the rest is yours to keep even after it appreciates in value over time.

[-] bahbah23@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

A 401k lets you make money on the part that would have otherwise gone to taxes. Can you show an example with numbers where paying tax up front comes out ahead of paying tax at the end?

[-] RaoulDook@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Nope I don't have any examples. You should invest as you see fit, after doing your own research into the options.

It's a gamble basically but I'm gambling that taxes will be higher than the little bit more I might make on gains from the extra pre-tax money.

[-] bluGill@kbin.social -1 points 1 year ago

That will depend on your total savings and such. If you start a 401k at 25 and contribute the max until you retire at 72: you will have a lot of money and it is likely the Roth is better just because because you have so much more taxes to pay. OTOH, if you wait until 45 to start savings and never contribute the max, when you retire at 62 you will do okay (most of your income is from SS - better hope it is still there!) but your total income will be small and so you end up in a lower tax bracket. Odds are you will be somewhere between those two extremes.

Roth and regular investment accounts often have the same annual contribution limits, but the Roth has effectively more growth just because you don't pay taxes: 100,000 in a regular account is worth $70,000 after taxes (exact number depends on your state and tax bracket - it might be $80,000 it might be $50,000), while in the Roth it is $100,000.

There is also the gamble. Nobody knows what tax rates and deductions will be in the future. If things stay the same I can tell you what will happen, but I consider the odds of that zero - but the odds that things are close to today I think are good enough - but I have no way of know. They might make a withdrawals from a Roth taxable (this would go to court, but who knows how the court will look in 30 years). They might change the tax brackets - either up or down. They might make regular retirement withdrawals non-taxable (or taxed at a different rate). They might confiscate all retirement funds in some revolution. Or you might die before you retire. Again I think the safe bet is tax rules will be somewhat close to todays rules, and you will live to the statistical average lifespan plus a couple years - but I do not know.

[-] ehrik@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

And if you make enough to contribute to both a RothIRA and a 401k, you should do that and not pick one over the other.

[-] Cryophilia@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Traditional IRAs and Roth 401ks are also things.

this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2023
652 points (93.6% liked)

World News

39004 readers
2622 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS