Gen Z Retirement Plan: Invest Now, Cry More Later

Photo by Sonder Bridge Photography on Unsplash

KEY POINTS

•Gen Z workers aged 18-24 are increasingly investing in retirement accounts, driven more by anxiety than financial planning.
•Leeah Marie Derenoncourt contributes to her Roth IRA but doubts it will fund her retirement due to systemic economic challenges.
•Tim Moriarty, a high school paraprofessional in Illinois, keeps a close eye on pension reforms while maximizing his Roth IRA contributions.

Meet the 18-to-24 crowd facing a retirement paradox: start socking away cash in 401(k)s and Roth IRAs while living their best digital nomad lives, yet still fearing their savings won't cover more than avocado toast and rented cardboard boxes by 60. Angela M. Antonelli from Georgetown University cheerfully notes Gen Z's early bird savings are anxiety-driven, not savvy. Leeah Marie Derenoncourt, 24, contributes steadily but doesn’t believe her retirement accounts will save her from the apocalypse. Meanwhile, Gallup reports this age group loves libraries more than quality jobs. Tim Moriarty from Illinois maxes his IRA while watching pension reforms like it’s a Netflix thriller. At least 47% of these doomscrollers are on track to retire before damnation—or at least before Millennials.