In news that will either make you feel less alone or cause you to roll your eyes, members of Generation Z are already worrying about retiring in Colorado.

According to a new poll from CreditNinja.com, the average Coloradan begins to panic about their retirement by the age of 23 — two years earlier than the average American (and way earlier than Arkansas residents, who don't worry about retirement until around 42 years old).

So why are young Coloradans so stressed about their post-career lives?

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The primary culprit is the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, CreditNinja.com reports that, of those surveyed, 1 in 3 people can no longer retire at the age they want to, while 52% of people don't believe they can retire at all.

Although these results seem discouraging, they don't mean that your future is totally screwed.

"The idea of retirement and pensions can be daunting, however, not nearly as difficult as you may think," said a spokesperson for CreditNinja.com. "The key is to start looking into it as early as possible once you're financially secure in your job, in order to maximize your retirement benefits."

While the idea of a 23-year-old Coloradan worrying about retirement may appear frivolous, their stress could actually be prudent — 45% of those surveyed recommended that Gen Zers start a retirement fund sometime in their 20s.

Other recommendations? Start an emergency fund, save for a house deposit, learn about the stock market, and figure out how to do taxes.

As someone in Gen Z/Millenial nomad land who still doesn't quite understand how a 401k works, I understand my fellow young Coloradans' concern about retirement. Excuse me while I Google the stock market...

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