Seventy-two percent of millennials say they are nervous that their jobs will eventually phase out health coverage and 401(k) plans, and 83 percent are worried that they're not going to get a fair return on the money they are putting into Social Security right now. (Photo: Shutterstock)
At the risk of stating the obvious, millennials won't always be young. In fact, in the next few years, millions of them will turn 40.
A new report by Prudential, "The 80-Year-Old Millennial," explores how millennials envision they will spend the next half-century.
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Above all else, the report shows that today's young workers believe that major changes are in store when it comes to work and retirement. They're far from optimistic about all of it.
The online survey of 1,002 millennials finds that the majority believe that traditional employment will eventually be replaced almost entirely by freelancers or independent contractors. Whether those freelance gigs will even be available to them is a cause of concern: 75 percent say they are worried that jobs will become scarce as a result of increasingly sophisticated robots.
Millennials are also concerned that the health and retirement benefits that their parents' generation counted on will eventually fade away. Seventy-two percent say they are nervous that their jobs will eventually phase out health coverage and 401(k) plans and 83 percent are worried that they're not going to get a fair return on the money they are putting into Social Security right now.
Seventy-nine percent say that it's likely that "people will no longer be able to retire comfortably in the future."
More ominously, a majority of millennials doubt that the "American Dream" is possible anymore. Fifty-three percent say their generation is unlikely to fare better economically than their parents' generation.
The survey also displayed significant differences based on race and gender. Sixty-two percent of women say millennials will likely be poorer than their parents, compared to only 44 percent of millennial men. Hispanics were the most likely to believe young people will do better than their parents (62 percent), followed by African Americans (53) percent, Asian Americans (42 percent) and finally, whites (40 percent).
The report concludes with advice for employers trying to assuage the concerns of a generation of workers that are stressed about money. If companies aren't willing to pay workers more or offer them better benefits, at the very least, the report suggests, they should try to help employees do the most with their earnings through financial counseling. Ideally, notes the report, this should come from an actual person, not simply financial planning software.
"Millennials who may perceive themselves to have a slight financial disadvantage/vulnerability are more likely to seek out a fellow human for financial advice," says the report. "They are less likely to want to outsource their financial decisions to artificial intelligence."
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