Retirement planning tips for millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers

Retirement planning tips for every generation

A new Bankrate survey says 76 percent of Americans have at least one financial regret – and among those people, more than half are disappointed with their savings.

What's worse, approximately one quarter of Americans don't have any retirement savings at all, according to a Federal Reserve survey. And yet another survey showed that while 67 percent of Americans said they're totally confident about their savings, only 42 percent actually tried to calculate the amount they'd need.

"They feel confident," said CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger. "I'm not exactly sure why they feel so confident."

"[It's] because the economy's better, because jobs are more plentiful, because they're getting wage increases," she added, "but we really need people to focus on this. Because you are going to responsible for your own retirement years."

Schlesinger joined "CBS This Morning" Tuesday to share specific retirement tips for every working generation. 

Millennials (age 23-38): 

  • Young millennials (age 23-29): pay off credit card debt, auto loans, and student debt. Meanwhile, try to put aside 5 to 6 percent of earnings for retirement.
  • Older millennials (age 30-38): pay down remaining debt, but try to put aside 10 to 15 percent.

Gen X (age 39-54): 

  • Try to put 15 to 20 percent of earnings into retirement, and attempt to hit the federal limit of $19,000.
  • Don't pay down your mortgage – instead, focus on saving for retirement first.

Baby Boomers (55-73): 

  • Run your numbers with the Employee Benefit Research Institute's Choose to Save calculator to determine how much money you should be putting away.
  • Aim for a "Goldilocks scenario" with risk in your portfolio: not too much, not too little.
  • Go to ssa.gov to familiarize yourself with your benefits through social security. 
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