--- title: Boomers Are at Higher Risk of Running Out of Retirement Money Than Younger Workers description: More younger Americans are on track to have enough money for financial security in retirement than older generations, new research finds. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 597 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Kaitlin Mulhere role: Editor url: https://money.com/author/kaitlin-mulhere/ bio: Kaitlin Mulhere is an editor at Money.com. Since joining in 2015, she’s written and edited about a variety of personal finance topics, including banks, credit, student debt, saving strategies and more. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2015 articles: 217 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/KMulhere - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-mulhere-64503048/ published: '2024-08-14T15:41:27.000Z' modified: '2025-02-12T18:37:11.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 686 canonical: https://money.com/retirement-savings-by-generation-morningstar/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Person walking on a path of money](https://img.money.com/2024/08/News-Millennials-GenZ-Risk-Retirement.jpg) The kids really are all right, at least when it comes to saving for retirement. New research finds that younger American workers are actually positioned to have greater financial security in their post-work years than older generations. Just over a third of Gen Z workers and 44% of millennial workers are projected to run out of money in retirement, compared to 47% of Gen X and 52% of baby boomers, according to Morningstar's [model](https://www.morningstar.com/business/insights/research/retirement-crisis-401k) of retirement outcomes. “The results for baby boomers and Gen X are in a large part already determined by their current level of retirement savings, as members of these generations do not have that much time left to save for retirement,” the report said. Younger generations, though, still have time to build financial security for their golden years. Crucially, the predictions are based on the assumption that there will be no changes to Social Security. If there *are* cuts to Social Security benefits in the coming years, this modeling would be thrown off. Younger generations could be severely affected in such a scenario, while older Americans would likely be spared — at least to an extent — as there’s a strong political consensus against cutting benefits for those who are near retirement. Still, the fact that younger workers are (for now) headed toward a rosier retirement may come as a surprise, considering recent discussion about the [rising costs of retirement](https://money.com/retirement-cost-estimate-record/) and how [younger Americans aren’t saving enough](https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/money/average-savings-by-age). But Morningstar's analysis actually backs up previous [retirement studies](https://money.com/millennials-saving-for-retirement-gen-x/) that showed millennials, at least, were on track to meet their [retirement-spending needs](https://money.com/saving-for-retirement-millennials-vs-boomers/) at higher rates than older workers. ## Increase your income today with a Reverse Mortgage ### If you're 62 or older, work with a licensed Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) representative in your state today. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/f9aaa98cdbb4?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-savings-by-generation-morningstar%2F) ## Workers who contribute to a 401(k) are much better off The researchers note that younger generations may end up with more [retirement savings](https://money.com/save-for-retirement/) due to the evolution of retirement plans and the country's embrace of defined-contribution plans like [401(k)s](https://money.com/average-401k-balance-contributions-rate-rising/). These accounts are popular tools for retirement savings because contributions are made with pre-tax dollars and employers often offer matching contributions. Decades ago, defined-contribution plans largely replaced defined-benefit plans, which include pensions. The transition hurt baby boomers in particular. They missed out on the era of pension benefits and during their earlier working years, there wasn't as much emphasis on contributing to work-sponsored plans, so they also missed out on critical years of compounding interest during their 20s and 30s. Plans have become more advanced in recent years, too, benefitting younger generations with new features and investment options. Contributing to a work-sponsored retirement plan was one of the biggest indicators of future retirement preparedness, according to the Morningstar report. Yet just over half of workers had access to one in 2022. “There is a retirement crisis … for those who do not or are unable to participate in a defined-contribution plan,” the researchers wrote. Among workers who will participate in a work-sponsored retirement plan for 20 or more years, only 21% are at risk of running out of money in retirement. That compares to a share of 57% for those who don’t participate currently and will not in the future. ## Retirement readiness by gender and race Women are at greater risk of running out of money in retirement than men. That’s because single women have less money saved than single men and because their life expectancies are longer. “About 55% of single females are projected to be at risk in retirement, compared with just 41% for couples and 40% for single males,” the report said. The research also builds on previous studies showing stark differences in retirement preparedness and outcomes based on race and socioeconomic factors. "Lower-income workers are at a considerably higher risk of retirement insecurity. Race and ethnicity also play a role, with Hispanic and Black Americans more likely to experience shortfalls," the report said. While about 40% of white and Asian Americans are currently on track for financial shortfalls in retirement, those numbers rise to 61% for Hispanic Americans and 59% for Black Americans. ## Protect your retirement with a Reverse Mortgage ### Work with a licensed Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) representative today. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/u235297d9683?ap_referrer=%2Fretirement-savings-by-generation-morningstar%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-savings-by-generation-morningstar/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Retirement Planning", "item": "https://money.com/retirement-planning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Boomers Are at Higher Risk of Running Out of Retirement Money Than Younger Workers" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-savings-by-generation-morningstar/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/retirement-savings-by-generation-morningstar/", "name": "Boomers Are at Higher Risk of Running Out of Retirement Money Than Younger Workers", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2024-08-14T15:41:27.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-savings-by-generation-morningstar/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/retirement-savings-by-generation-morningstar/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-02-12T18:37:11.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Boomers Are at Higher Risk of Running Out of Retirement Money Than Younger Workers", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2024/08/News-Millennials-GenZ-Risk-Retirement.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Millennials-GenZ-Risk-Retirement" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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