Baby boomers and millennials have differing takes on when they want to retire and how they expect to spend those years, according to a survey conducted by Provision Living. The St. Louis-based operator manages 14 communities, offering assisted living and memory care services.
Provision asked 2,000 Americans of all ages questions ranging from when they wanted to retire, where they prefer to live when they retire, ideal home sizes and styles, and how much they expect to have saved for retirement.
Nearly 78% of all respondents indicated they would live in the U.S. when they retire. The top five cities for retirement were Miami, San Diego, Denver, New York and Orlando. The majority of respondents prefer retiring to a one-story ranch house near a coastal area or beach, but the sizes of the homes differed between generational groups.
Boomers expected smaller footprints, and respondents averaged 1,510 square feet of living space. Millennials in the survey, meanwhile, indicated they expected larger footprints, with an average of 1,890 square feet.
“The survey itself was evenly spread across the country,” Provision CEO Todd Spittal told Senior Housing News. “This survey came out of our curiosity over what inspires older adults and their families — how does our customer think and what’s on their minds. Hopefully, it becomes a creative piece to share with others, and deliver future thought and discussion for us to support our customers, and others, as well.”
Fifty-two percent of respondents indicated they thought about retirement four or more times a week, and the average retirement age of all respondents was 60 years. But there was a wide disparity in the ages baby boomers and millennials expect to retire. Boomers indicated they would remain in the workforce longer before retiring, with an average age of 64 years. Millennials, however, indicated they would retire younger, with an average retirement age of 56 years.
Boomers and millennials also differed in the ideal amount of savings they should have for retirement and financial security. The average ideal savings of all respondents was $610,000. Boomers, on average, said they wanted to save an average of $687,000 for retirement, while millennials indicated they only needed $574,000 for retirement. The gap was wider in what they would realistically save. Boomers responded they would have an average of $357,000 saved for retirement. Millennials responded they would, on average, expect to save $228,000.
Thirty-nine percent of all respondents indicated they won’t be financially secure enough to live without Social Security. Millennials are the exception: 37% responded they won’t need Social Security when they retire, yet only 43% of them have less than $5,000 saved for retirement.
Although the disparity of expectations between boomers and millennials was a theme in the survey, the range of respondents was a solid representation of generational and economic demographics, Spittal said.
Written by Chuck Sudo
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