Will Your Kids Be Able to Retire?

Parents worry that their children will have it worse than they do when it comes time for them to retire. Many milllennials are burdened with student debt, suffer from lagging wage growth, probably do not benefit from a company retirement plan and can look forward to rising health care costs.

But is the future really so bleak for your children? Millennials have approached work a little differently, and they may do retirement their own way as well. Besides, parents have been predicting doom and gloom for the next generation for decades, but so far it hasn't happened. Here are seven reasons your children will probably be fine in retirement.

Social Security Will Help Support Millennials

Despite millennial worry, Social Security is not going broke. It's true that Social Security is paying out more than it collects, and if no changes are made the trust fund that was built up will be depleted in about 15 years. At that point, benefits might have to be reduced by approximately 25 percent. While no one wants to take a 25 percent pay cut, that's not the same as going broke. And the likelihood of even that happening seems small, given that there will be political pressure to fix the system and avoid benefit cuts.

[Read: What Every 30-Year-Old Should Know About Social Security.]

Millennials Have Already Downsized

New models of living are evolving that may help millennials in retirement. For example, the trend toward smaller homes, including so-called tiny houses, can bring down the cost of housing as people save on materials, maintenance and utilities. There is also a nascent trend toward group living, which not only controls costs, but also offers social benefits, especially for widows and other single retirees.

Young People Are Thoughtful Consumers

Many young Americans are rebelling against a consumer society that makes people feel bad if they can't keep up with unrealistic lifestyles promoted by the media. There are signs of a cultural push away from throwaway consumption and toward more thoughtful spending. Reducing consumption and reusing existing items can not only help save the earth, but also improve your financial future.

Retirement Accounts Are Helping Employees to Save

While defined benefit retirement plans are on the wane, there are other opportunities to accumulate retirement resources, including IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement accounts. These plans didn't even exist when baby boomers started working, but millennials still have decades for their money to compound in retirement accounts. Modifications are in the works to improve retirement benefits, including automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans, better matching grants from both business and government, shorter vesting periods and portability of retirement accounts for people who change jobs.

[Read: How to Save $100,000 for Retirement by Age 35.]

Parents Are Supporting Their Adult Children

Many millennials are still getting a lot of help from their parents. According to an Ameriprise Financial survey, more than half of baby boomer parents have helped their adult children buy a car and one third assist their kids with routine living expenses. Another survey by TD Ameritrade found that millennial parents receive about $11,000 worth of annual financial support and unpaid labor from their baby boomer parents. While the benefits of this financial largesse are not available to everyone, for many young people it takes the pressure off, helping them stay out of debt and allowing them to fund their retirement accounts.

You Can Pass On Some of Your Wealth to Your Children

Many baby boomers inherited wealth from their parents, and millennials could inherit even more. No one should rely on an inheritance to fund their retirement, since a potential inheritance could be gobbled up by eldercare costs. There will nevertheless be a significant portion of millennials whose retirement will be made more comfortable and secure, courtesy of their parents.

[Read: How to Keep Your Grown Children From Endangering Your Retirement.]

Millennials Are Highly Educated

Awareness that the prospects for retirement are getting more challenging could help solve the problem. Today's young people know that a lifelong job with one company is now the exception, and so they have decades to prepare for their own retirement. Some schools now offer personal finance courses to improve financial literacy, and many parents are more intent about talking over money issues with their children. Young people know that education and expertise are crucial to lifelong employment. So many more people are going to college, getting advanced degrees, learning practical skills and taking advantage of the on-the-job training that will update their skills and help them remain employed into their senior years.

Tom Sightings is the author of "You Only Retire Once" and blogs at Sightings at 60.