According to surveys, some 70 percent of Californians under the age of 40 expect they’ll never retire–and that makes sense, since few are saving money for retirement. Many young people are struggling to find jobs; even the prosperous young are too busy paying off big debts for their educations and homes to be able to save as much as they’ll need. And groundbreaking efforts in California to encourage savings, like the 2012 establishment of retirement savings accounts that cover millions of private sector workers, are still unproven. Why is it so hard to convince young Californians to do essential long-term planning? Can the state’s existing programs be expanded to convince–or coerce–more people to save? City of Los Angeles financial empowerment initiative director Olivia Calderon, SagePoint financial advisor Alexander Cruz, personal finance columnist Liz Weston, and AARP director of financial security and consumer affairs Gerri Madrid-Davis visit Zócalo to ask how young Californians might be saved from elderly poverty–and themselves.

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