Millennials don't want to follow the usual path in life of school, then work, followed by retirement. Considering Americans live 30 years longer now than they did a century ago, millennials are instead looking to that "extra" 30 years as an opportunity to restructure their lives — despite the twin handicaps of being the least financially prepared and most overwhelmed by the notion of long-term planning.
That's according to new research from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, which found that more millennials are looking to march to a different drummer than their elders in the way they live their lives — although they're definitely not alone in considering the road not taken.
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While 58 percent of boomers and 68 percent of Gen Xers say they would prefer to "explore, experiment and travel" prior to retirement and follow a different path in terms of how they learn, work, partner and raise families, 69 percent of millennials say they'd rather take that alternate route.
And when asked to design their ideal longer life, 52 percent of millennials say they would rather pursue a more nontraditional path, unique to their interests, where they might work, take breaks, volunteer and try different things — and in no set order.
Millennials also appear to have a greater interest in taking advantage of their 30 extra years by living more adventurously.
This includes traveling extensively (58 percent, compared with 54 percent of boomers and 56 percent of Gen Xers); living in a different city, state or country (41 percent, compared with 27 percent of boomers and 35 percent of Gen Xers); pursuing a dream like starting a business (36 percent, compared with 21 percent of boomers and 30 percent of Gen Xers); and taking more risks in life (29 percent, compared with 19 percent of boomers and 23 percent of Gen Xers).
Millennials, young as they are, are actually the generation expressing the most regret about not taking more chances in their past. More than a third — 38 percent — say they wish they'd been more gutsy in their choices and done things they really wanted to do.
This regret is fueling a drive by a higher percentage of millennials to experiment with different types of jobs and explore alternatives in the future, including being more active in volunteer and environmental work (23 percent, compared with 20 percent of boomers and 15 percent of Gen Xers), pursuing creative careers (20 percent, compared with 14 percent of boomers and 16 percent of Gen Xers) and working fewer hours but for more years, thus delaying retirement till later in life (18 percent, compared with 15 percent of boomers and 15 percent of Gen Xers).
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