Three generations of today’s workers harbor some fear they will not be able to afford the long retirement lives they anticipate having, according to Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

Whether retirement is just around the corner or decades away, each generation harbors some fear of financial insecurity, said the 18th annual Transamerica Retirement Survey of Workers.

This year’s wide-ranging study, which polled 6,372 workers, including baby boomers, Generation Xers and millennials, asks “Wishful Thinking or Within Reach? Three Generations Prepare for ‘Retirement.'” Baby boomers are defined as those born between 1946 and 1964, Gen Xers between 1965 and 1978, and millennials between 1979 and 2000.

Workers’ confidence in their ability to retire made a comeback after the Great Recession, but the confidence level stalled three years ago and has made little progress since then, according to Transamerica. In 2017, 62 percent of workers are confident they will be able to fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle, including 18 percent who are very confident and 44 percent who are somewhat confident.

Millennials, with the longest time line to retirement, are the most confident with 76 percent saying they are at least somewhat confident. For baby boomers, that number is 62 percent and for Gen Xers, it is 55 percent.

Overall, 44 percent of workers said they have fully recovered or were not impacted by the recession. Once again, Gen Xers are the most pessimistic; 23 percent said they have not yet begun to recover from the recession or that they may never recover. Seventeen percent of millennials and 18 percent of baby boomers agree.

Baby boomers have been the trailblazers in the new retirement climate, in which defined contribution plans have replaced defined benefit plans. Two-thirds plan to or are already working past age 65 or do not plan to retire, most for financial and healthy aging-related reasons.

However, many may not be laying the necessary groundwork for success, said Transamerica. Only 42 percent are proactively keeping their skills up to date so they can continue working past 65 or in retirement. Only 28 percent have a backup plan for retirement income if they find themselves unable to work before their planned retirement date. Thirty-eight percent expect Social Security to be their primary source of income when they retire, while 39 percent expect their primary source of retirement income to be self-funded accounts.

Gen Xers are the first generation to have had access to 401(k) plans for most of their working careers. They have high participation rates in these plans, but many should be saving more, the study said. The median savings rate is only 8 percent, though they should know they have time to make up the savings. Transamerica calls them the "stoic" and "struggling" generation.

“Gen Xers are a tremendously underserved generation,” said Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. “They are at a critical age where they should be focused on saving for retirement. If they are not, they still have time to catch up in savings.”

Millennial workers are a digital do-it-yourself generation of retirement savers, Transamerica said. Eight in 10 are concerned that Social Security will not be there for them when they are ready to retire. Unlike their parents’ generation, many expect their primary source of retirement income to be self-funded through retirement accounts.

This generation is getting an early and strong start with their retirement savings, but they need to learn more about investing, and they are eager to do that, the study said.

Of those who are saving, they began at a median age of 24, which is younger than older generations do. Among those who are participating in a 401(k) or similar plan through their employers, the median savings rate is 10 percent of their annual salary.

“A clear opportunity for millennials is to get savvy about their savings,” Transamerica said. “One in four who are saving say they are not sure how their retirement savings are invested. Some good news is that 76 percent of millennials, including both retirement savers and non-savers, would like to receive more information and advice from their employers on how to achieve their retirement goals.”

More Gen Xers (57 percent) and baby boomers (55 percent) said their biggest fear in retirement is outliving their savings, while for millennials (47 percent) the biggest fear is not being able to meet basic financial needs. As workers age, the fear of suffering from declining health that requires long-term care increases.

Despite the fact that many retirees are working in retirement and those nearing retirement plan to continue doing so, ageism is a concern in today’s society, Transamerica said. Eighty-four percent of all workers share positive perceptions about older workers. However, more than half of workers (54 percent) have one or more negative perceptions, such as older workers having higher health-care costs (a concern shared by 28 percent of respondents) and being less open to learning and new ideas (a view held by 19 percent). “Therefore, it is important for workers, especially older workers, to be aware of these perceptions and strive to overcome them,” the study said.

“Financial advisors have a tremendous opportunity as workers rethink retirement,” said Collinson. “Advisors can ask the tough questions to determine if the clients are on track for retirement and how long they think they will live. Are they taking proactive steps to ensure they can work as long as they want?

“There has to be some tough love from advisors,” she said. “For instance, all three generations say they want to pay off debt. Advisors can help them do that and save at the same time.”