'Not Much Financial Education' — Yet Millennials Have Boomers and Gen X Beat When It Comes to Retirement Savings. Here's Why.千禧一代可能拥有更少的房屋和make less money — but they're on track for a better retirement.

ByAmanda Breen•Oct 4, 2023

Older millennials will be able to replace more of their income in retirement than Gen X and baby boomers.
Increasing automatic enrollments in 401(k) plans contributes to earlier and more significant savings.

Millennials might be behind onhomeownershipand earnings rates compared to older generations, but they're ahead in another significant way.

New data from Vanguard suggests they're saving more forretirementthan Gen Xers and the youngest baby boomers,The Wall Street Journalreported.

When older millennials now earning a median salary hit retirement age, they'll be able to replace 60% of their pre-retirement income withSocial Securityand savings from other sources like401(k)s and individual retirement accounts, according to the data. In contrast, Gen Xers and the youngest baby boomers are on track to replace roughly half of their paychecks in retirement.

Many older millennials are in a better position for retirement thanks to an increase in default 401(k) plans, as automatic enrollments contribute to earlier and more significant savings — money baby boomers and Gen X employees who waited to enroll missed out on, per the research.

And it's a good thing, too: Millennials have far lessretirement securitythan their parents or grandparents due to a combination of social security solvency concerns and the widespread replacement of pension plans with defined-contribution plans like 401(k)s, factoring investment decisions into retirement income,USA Todayreported.

"There's not that much financial education in college, which is why automatic enrollment is helpful," 34-year-old Kenneth Adams, who was automatically enrolled in a 401(k) when he graduated from college in 2012 and started working as an engineer at a tech company, told theWSJ。“这给了你一个默认直到你储蓄选项educate yourself on what the 401(k) can do for you."

Amanda Breen

Entrepreneur Staff

Features Writer

Amanda Breen is a features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and received an MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts.