Boomers and GenXers alike face retirement with misgivings, although Gen Xers are far more despairing of even having a retirement in which they can pursue their own interests.
Those are the results of "Generations Apart," a new study from Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America, which explored the attitudes of boomers (ages 49–67) and Gen Xers (ages 35–48) toward their financial futures. Those attitudes are disturbing, particularly among Gen Xers, who seem to have given up on the notion of planning for retirement at all.
While there are noticeable differences between the generations on some of their thoughts about retirement, they're (sadly) agreed on one thing: that a retirement starting at age 65 "doing exactly what you want" is nothing more than a "romantic fantasy." Eighty-four percent from both generations said so.
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Gen Xers are also more realistic — fatalistic? — about retirement planning, with 67 percent saying that the financial targets commonly given for enough money to retire are far beyond their ability to achieve. A little less than half of boomers (49 percent) said the same thing.
Both generations are exhibiting some learned helplessness about planning for retirement, too, with Gen Xers again taking the lead: 64 percent said they get "bogged down with uncertainty when planning for retirement," compared with 43 percent of boomers. In fact, 44 percent of Gen Xers and 31 percent of boomers said that it is ""useless to plan for retirement when everything is so uncertain," and 68 percent of Gen Xers and 43 percent of boomers feel that they will "never have enough money to stop working."
Considering the financial crisis, the Great Recession, and earlier pension losses, such as Enron and LTV, it's perhaps only surprising that boomers aren't as pessimistic as Gen Xers.
Both generations feel that they've had a tough time of it, and they're both right. Both are pretty sure their own generation had (has) it worse than the other. Ninety percent of Gen Xers and 80 percent of boomers feel that they're paying more expenses; 86 percent of Gen Xers and 72 percent of boomers say they're faced with more uncertainty; and 78 percent of Gen Xers and 64 percent of boomers feel they're dealing with more risk than the other generation.
But even boomers are in the majority in saying that Gen X has it tougher for planning for retirement (86 percent of Gen Xers, 65 percent of boomers); saving money (89 percent vs. 68 percent); keeping a job (85 percent vs. 69 percent); staying out of debt (90 percent vs. 72 percent); and getting a job (85 percent vs. 73 percent).
Meanwhile, the futility of planning for retirement wars with procrastination and an unrealistic expectation that everything will "just work out." Seventy-two percent of Gen Xers and 60 percent of boomers feel it's "almost impossible to figure out what your (retirement) expenses are going to be," and so 48 percent of Gen Xers and 27 percent of boomers say they don't know how much they'll need to retire. But, since they're all paying so much in other expenses, the point could be moot: 52 percent of Gen Xers and 32 percent of boomers say they "just don't think about putting money away for the future."
Despite all this, 65 percent of boomers and 53 percent of Gen Xers agreed with the statement, "When it comes to retirement, I just have this feeling that everything's going to work out."
And, in an echo of Scarlett O'Hara's "I'll think about it tomorrow," 46 percent of Gen Xers say they'll figure retirement out when they get there and 52 percent just don't think about putting money away for the future, while 36 percent and 32 percent, respectively, of boomers say the same things.
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