Retirement for Generations X and Y

My husband and I have begun the process of penning our long-term goals to paper, beginning with our retirement goals. Up until this point we've merely maintained the ambiguous goals of "we want to retire comfortably and early if possible," but our hope is that actually committing to numbers on paper will aid us in staying on track.

To start the process, I began looking for general retirement planning advice for those in their 20s and 30s, as we are both 26. While there is a wealth of general information on utilizing 401(k)s, IRAs and other investment tools, I noticed that a majority of retirement articles seem primarily written for baby boomers. Certainly this is understandable since retirement is a more pressing and current issue for baby boomers, especially since many are in the difficult position of needing to make "catch-up" contributions because they have yet to accumulate enough in their nest eggs.

The problem, of course, is that if the baby boomers in general had started sooner, they would likely be in a much more secure financial position today-which is why I think there should be more emphasis on targeting the younger generations. With generations X and Y being unable to rely on social security or employer pensions to supplement their retirement, it is more crucial than ever to get an early start. Yet most articles that I see targeted towards those in their 20s and 30s mainly discuss debt reduction.

Seeking Balance

Certainly, the amount of debt that Americans are accumulating is of vast concern and it is necessary to educate the younger generations of the importance of paying off debt (or not accumulating it in the first place), but this should not be at the expense of not emphasizing the need and benefit of starting retirement saving early.