While many millennials in the United States have a financial plan, a survey finds that they’re not investing enough for retirement.
Despite their generational confidence and access to information, a Nationwide Retirement Institute survey finds that 36% of millennial investors only guess at how much they need to fund their retirement, and nearly 25% don’t know if they have a DC plan.
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While 58% of millennials conduct their own financial research and make their own investment decisions, only half are confident they know how much to save for retirement. For those millennials without a financial plan, 28% feel that creating a plan is overwhelming, and 40% said “they haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
In addition, 56% of millennial investors think they would be more financially successful with professional financial advice, but only 39% actually use a financial advisor.
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The survey also includes information about how current retirees approach investing when compared to millennials.
Like millennial investors, 56% of current retirees say professional financial advice would help them be more successful than going it alone. Of the 62% of retirees who work with an advisor, 83% have spoken or met with him or her at least once in the past year, compared with 55% of millennials who have done so with their advisor.
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Millennial investors are more likely to consult family (50%) and websites (49%) than a financial advisor (39%) for their financial planning needs. Retirees, on the other hand, turn to a financial advisor (62%), go to traditional media (37%) and follow their gut feeling (36%).
“We found that, more than any of the other generations we surveyed, millennials like to feel empowered when it comes to making financial choices,” says Mike Spangler, president of Nationwide’s mutual funds business.