Like many young adults, Jake Loberg enjoys using his money to have fun and explore the world. But he tries not to go overboard.

"I'm someone who always tries to live in the moment and take things a day at a time, which a lot of times means saying 'screw it' and booking a trip on a whim," the 23-year-old media planner in Fargo, North Dakota, tells CNBC Make It.

"I also know it's not something I can afford to do on a regular basis, so finding that balance is something I'm still working through."

Loberg has a way to go before he gets to retirement. But as he watches his parents get closer to the end of their full-time careers, he knows he'll have to put in a bit of extra effort to ensure he can afford a retirement similar to what they're planning for themselves. 

He's not alone: 82% of American workers say achieving a comfortable retirement is much harder or somewhat harder than it was for their parents' generation, according to CNBC's August 2024 Your Money retirement survey conducted with SurveyMonkey.

Loberg's father has worked for a company with an employee stock ownership plan for over 20 years, which Loberg says has helped bolster his dad's retirement savings. He and Loberg's mother plan to buy a lake house in Minnesota and travel more frequently in retirement, Loberg says.

"The likelihood of me saving via my 401(k) and Roth IRA an amount close to what my dad will have in his ESOP is pretty unlikely," he says.

It's not just a feeling — saving for retirement is harder now. Even young adults with objectively high incomes "still feel like they aren't getting ahead because of how much health care costs and how much housing costs and everything," Katherine Fox, a certified financial planner and founder of Sunnybranch Wealth, tells CNBC Make It. 

Here's why it's harder for millennials and Gen Z to save and plan for the retirements they want than it was for their parents.

Life costs more than it used to

From going to college to having and raising kids, many significant life events are more expensive for millennials and Gen Zers. As a result, retirement, one of the final boxes people check in their lifelong financial to-do list, feels exceedingly out of reach, Fox says. 

Millennials carry a median non-mortgage debt of $30,558, according to a recent LendingTree study. They are also the most likely generation to have student debt; around 38% of millennials have student loans and owe a median balance of $24,112.

While it's possible to balance paying back student debt with other financial goals, such as retirement or saving for a house, those monthly payments can hold borrowers back. In fact, student loan borrowers with lower incomes have 36% less saved for retirement than non-borrowers, an Employee Benefits Research Institute study found.

With or without student loans, the cost of housing has become burdensome for many millennials and Gen Zers, thanks to high rents and out-of-reach home prices and mortgage rates. That is, if they're able to move out on their own at all.

"A lot of advice that people who are older give about how you should save is totally out of touch with the reality, in a way that I think is actually really harmful because it makes people feel so defeated," Fox says. 

She mentions common budgeting tips like not spending more than 30% of your income on housing, which is difficult to do these days when rent and mortgage costs have grown faster than wages.

It's also discouraging for young people to feel like they can't meet this so-called "standard" despite being gainfully employed and diligent with their spending, Fox says. "They can't keep housing as 30% of their income and they feel like they failed. So what's even the point?"

Younger people need to save even more

Not only is it harder to save, but young people are also expected to need even more money than prior generations to afford a comfortable retirement. That's partially due to higher living costs, as well as longer life expectancies.

Here's how life expectancy at birth varies by birth year, according to data from the Social Security Administration:

For Americans born in 1950

• Men: 65.6 years
• Women: 71.1 years

For Americans born in 1991

• Men: 71.9 years
• Women: 79 years

It may make sense for some workers to push retirement back several years, but not everyone will be able to keep working at the same rate as they get older. Millennials and Gen Zers may have to start putting away more now if they want to retire in their mid-60s.

And many of them want to retire even earlier. About 30% of Gen Zers and 21% of millennials say they plan to before they turn 60, according to CNBC's survey.

"A lot of people will need to save quite a bit of money on top of maxing out a 401(k) [each year] to be able to retire at the age when they would ideally want to," Fox says.

Millennials and Gen Zers seem pretty well aware of these difficulties. Both generations expect to need over $1.6 million to retire, compared with $990,000 for baby boomers, according to data from Northwestern Mutual.

'Life is expensive, but you still need to save'

Despite how intimidating the numbers can be, Fox encourages young workers to keep at it, even when their efforts feel small. "The message that we should be giving is: Life is expensive, but you still need to save, and you do still need to think about retirement," she says.

It's never too early to start thinking about retirement. Even teenagers can start investing or consider affordability when deciding where to attend college.

If you're older, there are still "creative ways to navigate how expensive life is," Fox says. You may consider moving to an area with a lower cost of living either while you're working or in retirement to cut down on expenses. Delaying or forgoing having children can also make a big difference in your overall financial planning.

When you're thinking about the big picture, you have to decide where your priorities are and what you're willing to sacrifice in order to meet your top goals, Fox says.

If you want your retirement to be mostly work-free and heavy on international travel, you might want to increase your income during your peak earning years to maximize your savings and investments. On the other hand, if you're comfortable with the idea of working longer so you can maintain a good work-life balance while you're young, you might be able to ease up on the gas a bit.

There are always trade-offs, whether it's changing your retirement expectations or adjusting your savings strategies, Fox says. 

For now, Loberg remains optimistic about his future, but realistic that life may throw him challenges that get in the way of his plans.

"I'm doing everything I can now to set myself up for success later in life, but if my circumstances change I'll have to deal with that if and when something happens," he says. "I get happiness from a lot of places in my life outside of my career and finances, which to me is the most important thing."

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