This Survey Shows When People Want to Retire. There’s Just One Problem

Retirement is something many people look forward to. After putting in decades of work, being able to slow down and enjoy life without clocking in has so many benefits. When our grandparents were at retirement age, they were still young in our eyes. Our parents were a little older when their day came. But for us, it’s likely to be very different. A new survey shows that for those of us counting down the days to retirement, our ideal age and the age we realistically can are very different.

According to CNBC, a survey from Natixis Investment Managers set to find out when most American workers hope to retire and the timeline was pretty consistent. The overall average age of retirement is 62 years old. But when that was broken down into generations, there is more variation.

The survey shows that Baby Boomers (current age 57 to 75) expect to retire at 68 years old. Generation X (current ages 41 to 56) say on average they want to retire at 60 years old. The youngest group, Generation Y (current ages 25 to 40) responded they have plans to retire earlier at 59 years old. And yes, we get it.

It’s expected to have younger and younger generations holding the goal of early retirement. But, as workers age and realize how much money needs to be saved to reach retirement, the reality is very different. And people are starting to realize this.

The study shows that 40 percent of respondents said that achieving financial security in retirement is “going to take a miracle,” which doesn’t sound good. Most of the people with that sentiment were in the younger generations. And the survey shows that they have come to the realization that they “may need to work longer than planned, but circumstances may prevent them from being able to.” Not everyone is going to be healthy enough to continue work into their late 70s, and it’s going to take a lot of money, and high wages alongside little debt, to be financially comfortable as we age.

According to GoBankingRates.com, the average amount of money needed for retirement varies a lot depending on what state you live in. For example, in Texas you would need $785,109 saved for retirement where $1,692,722 would need to be saved if you live in Hawaii. Taking all those numbers, the average we would need to save to retire in the US is $967,201 – and for Gen X and Gen Y, that’s a whole lot of money.