Millennials are too underemployed and encumbered by student loans to save money ... right?
Maybe not. New data finds that young adults are outstripping older generations in their savings goals — a situation that has mixed implications for America’s future financial security.
A new survey by Bankrate.com found that adults under 30 are really stepping up their game: More than six in 10 said they were saving at least 5 percent of their income, up 20 percentage points from last year. Nearly three in 10 said they were saving more than 10 percent of their income, bringing them nearly on par with the number of people across all age brackets saving more than 10 percent of their income.
Bankrate also found that millennials were five percentage points more likely than the average among all respondents to say they felt more secure about their jobs today than they did a year ago.
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Among all Americans, 27 percent said they have a higher net worth today than they did a year ago, while 17 percent said their net worth was lower.
Although these are good signs, the bad news is that many older adults — who have less time to go before retirement — aren’t saving as much as they should: Only half of respondents 30 and older are managing to save at least 5 percent of their income, and nearly a quarter of those between the ages of 30 and 49 aren’t saving a penny.
Bankrate chief financial analyst Greg McBride pointed out in a statement that this means not only are these people at risk of financial insecurity in retirement, but even a short-term cash crunch could leave them stranded.
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