Social Security Outlook: Millennials Less Optimistic About Future Benefits

If you’re in the youngest generation of workers, you probably think getting Social Security benefits when you’re retirement age is a pretty dim prospect.

29% of younger millennials do not expect to receive anything from Social Security, according to a new Bankrate survey. Just 23% of all respondents do not expect Social Security benefits. The older you are, the more optimistic your outlook. Very few Gen Xers (16%) and Baby Boomers (17%) expect nothing.

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Older millennial Aurelien Windenberger, 32, co-owner of a consulting business in Fairfield, Iowa, has been saving for retirement since his 20s, with an annual target goal of 10% of his income.

He’s not counting on Social Security for any retirement income.

“I’m seeing (Social Security) as an extra bonus, if it’s around,” he says.

“Social Security is the great unknown for our generation,” says Ryan Guina, an entrepreneur in Elburn, Illinois, who runs several websites.

“I believe it will still be around in some form,” says Guina, 36, but most likely with changes.

Without knowing what those possible changes are, he said, it’s difficult to factor the benefit into his planning.

Make yourself feel worse with this calculator. It tells you how old you’ll be when the Social Security funds are slated to run out.

Make yourself feel better with these Social Security fixes. Something’s bound to be done – it’s a critical program, universally popular. Both presidential candidates have vowed to save it.

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