Gen Z Is Saving for Retirement Years Earlier Than Their Parents Did

A generation delaying marriage, kids, and homeownership sounds like a generation putting off big financial decisions altogether. Gen Z is doing the opposite when it comes to one specific goal. According to Northwestern Mutual’s 2026 Planning & Progress Study, young adults are pushing off major life milestones due to financial pressure, yet starting retirement savings years earlier than their parents and grandparents did. The two trends sit side by side in the same survey, and they point in opposite directions.

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Most Younger Adults Have Postponed at Least One Major Milestone

The scale of the delay is significant across both younger generations. The study found 72 percent of Gen Z adults and 56 percent of Millennials say financial challenges have caused them to postpone at least one major financial milestone. That is not a small or isolated group. Nearly three in four of the youngest adults surveyed, and more than half of Millennials, report actively pushing plans back because of money.

Housing and College Costs Are Doing the Most Damage

Specific milestones show clear patterns by generation. Among Gen Z respondents, 31 percent have delayed buying a house, 26 percent have put off paying for college, 24 percent have postponed having children, and 20 percent have delayed getting married. Millennials reported lower but still notable rates across the same categories, generally running several percentage points below their younger counterparts on each individual milestone.

For Many, Delay Has Turned Into Genuine Doubt

For many respondents, delay has shifted into genuine doubt about whether these goals happen at all. The study found 71 percent of Gen Z and 60 percent of Millennials believe they may never be able to afford at least one of life’s major milestones. Homeownership drew the strongest concern specifically, with 34 percent of Gen Z respondents doubting they will ever be able to buy a house.

Retirement Savings Started More Than a Decade Earlier Than Boomers

Despite that uncertainty, retirement savings tell a different story entirely. Gen Z respondents reported starting retirement savings at an average age of 22, while Millennials started at 28. For comparison, Boomers in the same study reported starting around age 37. That gap represents roughly a decade and a half of additional compounding time for the youngest generation compared to their grandparents.

Northwestern Mutual Calls This a Story of Resilience, Not Contradiction

Northwestern Mutual’s own leadership framed the contrast between delay and early saving as a sign of adaptability rather than contradiction. “What’s striking isn’t just that young adults are delaying milestones, it’s that many are questioning whether those life events are achievable at all,” said John Roberts, the company’s chief field officer. He added that professional guidance “can provide much-needed relief, both emotionally and financially, by helping people see a clearer path forward.”

Younger Generations Now Aim to Retire Years Earlier Than Gen X

Starting early has shifted expectations about when the working years actually end. Gen Z respondents said they hope to retire at an average age of 61, three years sooner than the 64 average reported by Millennials, and six years earlier than the 67 average among Gen X respondents. Earlier saving, in other words, appears to be translating directly into earlier retirement ambitions across the youngest generations surveyed.

AI Anxiety Is Adding to Younger Workers’ Financial Uncertainty

Retirement is not the only long-term concern shaping how younger workers think about money. Nearly half of Gen Z respondents, 46 percent, and about a third of Millennials, 32 percent, said they feel pessimistic about how artificial intelligence might affect their careers going forward. That concern adds another layer of financial uncertainty on top of the housing, education, and family costs already shaping this generation’s decisions.

Parenthood’s Cost Pressures Don’t Stop Once the Milestone Is Reached

For those who have already become parents, the financial reality has proven demanding regardless of generation. More than seven in ten Gen Z and Millennial parents surveyed said they spend as much or more on their children each month as they do on rent or their mortgage. That finding suggests parenthood’s cost pressures continue well past the initial decision to have children, shaping monthly budgets long after the milestone itself.

Young Adults Are Also Seeking Financial Advice Years Earlier Than Ever

The Harris Poll conducted this research on Northwestern Mutual’s behalf among 4,375 U.S. adults between January 5 and January 21, 2026. Alongside the delayed-milestone findings, the study noted that roughly one in four Gen Z and Millennial respondents sought professional financial advice for the first time this past year, with Gen Z starting that relationship at an average age of 22, nearly two decades earlier than Gen X.