Anthony Ogorek, a CFP in Buffalo, N.Y., says it’s his job to make people pay attention to the unique problems of retirement savings.
“You have to be realistic with clients and sometimes just tell them that they are going to have to work longer,” says Ogorek.
The Natixis study found the problem of retirement funding goes across generations.
For instance, the survey estimates that Gen Xers, aged 39 to 54, are missing chances to save more and be able to comfortably retire at age 61. Baby boomers, aged 55 to 73, are also not saving as much as they require to reach their goals, the survey said; they are older, so boomers need to save an average of $142,000 a year.
Millennials, aged 23 to 38, also are underestimating what they will need to put aside for retirement.
The good news is that all the groups seem to understand that they must consistently save to achieve their retirement goals.
How did boomers fall behind?
Boomers told the Natixis researchers that the most common reasons for lagging are that they should have started saving sooner, they contributed too little to their retirement plan and they needed more education earlier on saving for retirement.
However, the study also found some good trends.
Millennials, for example, are starting early to save for retirement. They are putting money in retirement plans on average at age 25. Still, the average millennial has saved only about 10 percent of his or her retirement saving needs.