{"id":179417,"date":"2025-06-12T21:52:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T21:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/179417\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T21:52:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T21:52:13","slug":"5-retirement-contingency-plans-gen-z-can-start-working-on-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/179417\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Retirement Contingency Plans Gen Z Can Start Working on Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

No one wants to spend their 20s or 30s thinking about what could go wrong decades from now. But if there\u2019s one thing we can learn from what boomers and Gen X are dealing with, it\u2019s that retirement<\/a> doesn\u2019t always go as planned.<\/p>\n

Some older Americans spent decades saving diligently, only to watch the market tank right as they were ready to retire. And others were even forced to delay retirement altogether due to a variety of factors, like inflation and medical costs.<\/p>\n

Advertisement: High Yield Savings Offers <\/p>\n

Powered by Money.com – Yahoo may earn commission from the links above. <\/p>\n

Read Next: 6 Cash-Flow Mistakes Boomers Are Making With Their Retirement Savings<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Check Out: 10 Genius Things Warren Buffett Says To Do With Your Money<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

But don\u2019t worry. If you\u2019re still young, you have plenty of time to do things differently. Here are a few smart (and not-so-obvious) retirement contingency plans Gen Z can start working on now<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Your investments could be on track for years, and then suddenly crash 30% because of one global crisis. And though the stock market has always recovered eventually after major crashes in the past, the recovery time can take months or years.<\/p>\n

So if you don\u2019t want to be so dependent on your portfolio, consider investing in a high-income skill that can help you make money regardless of how the economy is doing, like content creation, coding or freelance photography. That way, you won\u2019t feel forced to pull money out of your retirement account at a loss if you know you can earn a few thousand a month on the side.<\/p>\n

Learn More: What $1 Million in Retirement Savings Looks Like in Monthly Spending<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Retiring in a high-cost U.S. city can be difficult if you don\u2019t have much in your nest egg. If you\u2019d rather have financial breathing room than stress about covering rent in a big city, consider moving abroad or downsizing.<\/p>\n

Even though you might not be retiring soon, you can start researching alternative retirement destinations<\/a> now.<\/p>\n

That could mean scoping out low-cost cities in the U.S., learning about countries with digital nomad or retirement visas, joining Facebook groups or Reddit threads where expats share real numbers and experiences, learning about what it means to downsize, or calculating how much you\u2019ll need to retire comfortably<\/a>, depending on your desired living situation.<\/p>\n

The idea of never working again sounds nice until you realize how long retirement can last, and how expensive healthcare, housing and just living can be.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t mind continuing to work after 65, semi-retirement can be a plan that works better for you than fully retiring.\u00a0That can mean working seasonally or part-time doing something you enjoy, taking a few years off and returning to work later, or taking mini-retirements throughout your life instead of saving it all for the end.<\/p>\n

Story Continues <\/p>\n

What makes semi-retirement worth considering is that it gives you more control and lets you stay financially afloat even if the markets don\u2019t cooperate.<\/p>\n

Even the most \u201csafe\u201d investments can take a hit when the economy gets shaky. Stocks go through bear markets. Bonds lose value when interest rates spike. Real estate markets can crash. In other words, there\u2019s no such thing as a totally risk-free investment. That\u2019s why you should never put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to investing for retirement.<\/p>\n

So if you haven\u2019t already, work with a financial planner to help you create a mix of assets that can support you no matter what the market\u2019s doing. You\u2019ll also want to diversify your income streams so you can keep growing your retirement fund even if you lose your main source of income.<\/p>\n

You can have a diversified investment portfolio, a fully loaded retirement account and a six-figure income, but if you\u2019re still carrying high-interest debt<\/a> into your 50s and 60s, it can drag down everything you\u2019ve worked for. Especially in retirement, when you\u2019re no longer earning a full-time income, debt payments can feel heavier than ever.<\/p>\n

If you focus on paying off high-interest credit cards and minimizing lifestyle inflation in your 20s and 30s, you free up money that can go toward savings, investing or building the kind of flexibility you\u2019ll need later. It also makes it easier to retire on your own terms, without being tied to monthly payments that limit your options.<\/p>\n

More From GOBankingRates<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com<\/a>: 5 Retirement Contingency Plans Gen Z Can Start Working on Now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No one wants to spend their 20s or 30s thinking about what could go wrong decades from now.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3093],"tags":[51,474,2499,2250,3397,16,15,35854],"class_list":{"0":"post-179417","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-personal-finance","11":"tag-retirement","12":"tag-retirement-savings","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-warren-buffett"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114672615085844653","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}