The numbers are not adding up for recent college graduates counting on a comfortable retirement.
New data from NerdWallet.com, a financial information website, suggests young people, on average, will work 13 years longer than today's typical retirees.
Right now the average retirement age is a youthful 62. But for the class of 2015, seventy-five will be the average expected age, NerdWallet said. Given a normal life expectancy of 84 for someone now 23 years old, that leaves less than a decade to enjoy the golden years without the 9-to-5 grind.
It is a one-two punch. Along with a certificate, graduates are leaving school with considerable student debt. College graduates, on average, put out $4,239 per year to repay such debt, according to NerdWallet (http://nerdwallet.com).
In addition, young people are spending more time in the rental market before buying homes. With home ownership, comes home equity and valuable tax deductions. The more years they pays rent, the longer this generation is missing out on the benefits of real estate investing.
All is not lost. Here are some ways to beat the clock:
First, young people can simply live at home for a while. That knocks rent right off the budget.
Live with family until age 25, and you can narrow the finish line to an age 70 retirement by five years, according to NerdWallet.
But you cannot invest like grandma if you want to retire as young as she did. Young people need to be fearless, which often means putting the vast majority of assets into stocks.
Too many millennials are keeping cash on the sidelines, says Kyle Ramsey, investing manager at NerdWallet.