If they were to lose their job today, more than half of workers ages 55 and older say they could go at least a year without experiencing financial hardship. But for those 34 and younger, just 18 percent believe they could last that long without suffering economically.

This disparity in the financial situations of older vs. younger workers was revealed after Gallup surveyed more than 500 working U.S. adults earlier this month. Gallup asked two basic questions: If you lost your job today, at what point would you begin to feel the pinch in your wallet? And how likely do you think it is that you will lose your job sometime soon?

On the second question, workers of all ages felt generally confident about keeping their current jobs.  Just 16 percent of all those interviewed felt they were likely to lose their jobs, and this percentage varied little across age groups.