Baby boomers are not optimistic about the retirement prospects of future generations, according to a survey released Thursday by non-profit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
More than half, 55%, believe that future retirees will be worse off than those currently in retirement, the survey found.
The pessimism eased among younger workers. Only 28% of Generation Z and 33% of millennials saw future retirees as being worse off. A little more than half of Generation X, or 51%, held that view.
Baby boomers perhaps have reason to be the gloomiest of the four generations of workers as they plan to work longer than any other group.
About half of baby-boomer workers, 49%, expect to work — or already are working — past age 70 and do not expect to retire, according to the survey.
The majority, 83%, cited financial reasons for working — or planning to work — past age 65. Other top reasons for working in retirement included "healthy aging" (77%), "wanting the income" (64%) and "being active" (56%). Just under 20% said they were anxious about volatility in financial markets and investment performance.
Baby boomers reported that their greatest retirement fears revolve around outliving their savings and investments (49%), declining health that requires long-term care (43%) and the sustainability of Social Security (40%).
"Among those still in the workforce, baby boomers are especially vulnerable to employment setbacks, volatility in the financial markets, and increasing inflation — all of which could disrupt their retirement plans and with little or no ability to recover," said Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of the Transamerica Institute and the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, in a news release.
Baby-boomer workers have an estimated median $289,000 saved across all household retirement accounts and a median of $25,000 in emergency savings, according to the survey.
Only 34% said they have a backup plan for income if forced into retirement sooner than expected.
Despite the bleak statistics, baby boomers have a surprisingly high level of confidence in their ability to retire comfortably, with 70% saying they feel very or somewhat confident in their retirement readiness.
Transamerica's 23rd annual retirement survey of workers was conducted between Nov. 8 and Dec. 13 among a nationally representative sample of 5,725 workers in a for-profit company employing one or more employees.
