Business
Born into crisis, gen Z is saving for retirement like no other generation | Gene Marks
Research published at the end of last year by the Investment Company Institute with help from the University of Chicago found that gen Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – are “outpacing” earlier generations in contributing to retirement, having more than three times more assets in their 401(k) retirement savings accounts than gen X households had at the same time in 1989, adjusted for inflation.
This mirrors a 2023 study from the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies, which found that gen Z is doing a “remarkable job” saving for retirement with many putting away as much as 20% of their income towards the future.
It’s no wonder why.
The oldest of this generation probably have early memories of the 2009-2010 financial crisis. They have lived through a global pandemic. Their social media accounts are frightening them with stories of political upheavals, global warming, indiscriminate violence, riots, chaos and anarchy. Older generations got this kind of news maybe once or twice a day. This generation gets it fed to them every minute. They yearn for security. And one way is to save their money.
The question is, are they doing enough? What more could be done? Here are three things we should be considering.
Maximizing ‘after-tax’ options
Thanks to the Secure2022 legislation, employers can now not only offer Roth 401(k) plans for their employees but can also contribute to those plans. We should all have one. That’s because – within income limitations – contributions to a Roth 401(k) are made after taxes have been paid but then grow tax-free and can be withdrawn without any tax liability after the age of 59 1/2. gen Zers – who are likely to be paying less in taxes now due to their relatively lower salaries – can put this money away at lower rates, rather than just defer taxation to a future year when, under regular 401(k) rules, distributions become required. And they can let these sums grow without worrying about paying any more taxes in the future. As an employer, you can provide investment options that can help maximize their returns too.
Another great after-tax vehicle is the 529 plan. By offering this plan, an employer can help their employees – both younger and older – put after-tax money away that will grow tax-free and can then be withdrawn if used to pay for higher education, private school or religious school. It’s a great way for gen Zers to save for their future kids’ education instead of paying for it out of funds that would be used for their own retirement years down the line.
Offering an HSA
Health Saving Accounts have exploded in popularity over the past decade, and it’s no surprise why. With these accounts – which need to be paired with a high deductible group insurance plan – employees can sock away pre-tax dollars to be used for medical expenses that are not reimbursed by their health plans. Gains and withdrawals are not taxed. The beauty of these plans is you don’t have to use them or lose them – any unused balances just roll over to the next year. Some call it a 401(k) for healthcare, and they’re not wrong. It’s a great way for younger employees to put away money that could help pay for their future healthcare costs without interfering with their retirement savings.
Matching student loans
Agree or not, the Trump administration has reversed course with its predecessor and is now demanding student loan repayments. The result is that many younger people are going to need to face the reality of making good on their debt. One fallout will surely be less cash available to put away for retirement. But as employers, we can help. The Secure 2022 legislation now makes it legal for us to match their student loan payments with contributions to their 401(k) plans. This way even if they don’t have enough funds to put away for the future, employers can help make up the difference. This is something we should all consider.
Providing counseling
As a certified public accountant, I have spent my life dealing with money – both my own and my clients’. And yet every day I learn something new and still have to rely on the internet to clarify and research financial questions that I have. Now, imagine being a 25-year-old trying to figure out all the options. It’s impossible. A good employer should have an outside financial counselor on retainer who can provide one-to-one advice for their employees once or twice a year. My best clients do this. And it’s not just about retirement. It’s buying a house, getting insurance, owning a car … all the financial decisions that in the end affect what’s left over for retirement.
According to a recent Goldman Sachs survey 60% of gen Z respondents report “having a personalized financial plan, not just for retirement but also for goals like buying a home or a car” and 68% “believe their savings are on-track or ahead of schedule”.
Sounds great. But I’m betting that “plan” could be improved. Employers should be providing more help to help save for retirement. And the good news is that they have got a generation eager to take it.
For Gartner vice president analyst DD Mishra, WNS’s investments in intelligent automation, analytics, and agentic solutions including its TRAC analytics suite and Malkom knowledge management platform will complement Capgemini’s existing technology and consulting strengths.
Sharath Srinivasamurthy, research vice president at IDC, pointed to the acquisitions WNS has itself made in recent months, including Kipi.ai, Smart Cube, and OptiBuy to enhance its data, analytics, and procurement stack and extend its proficiency in business process operations, said.
However, Rajesh Ranjan, managing partner at Everest Group, views the WNS acquisition as more of a strategic play rather than being focused on garnering more agentic tools or capabilities.
Locafy’s AI Search Platform Powers Visibility Across Organic and AI Search
New Product Lineup Tailored to Local, National, and e-Commerce Businesses
AI-Powered Tools Designed to Automate Engagement and Accelerate Online Presence
PERTH, Australia, July 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Locafy Limited (NASDAQ: LCFY, “Locafy”), a globally recognized leader in location-based digital marketing, today unveiled its FY26 suite of AI-powered SEO products. These solutions, now commercially available following successful market testing, are designed to deliver measurable improvements across organic, AI, and marketplace search results.
Locafy initially outlined its AI-powered publishing roadmap in December 2024, promising to streamline content production and improve cost-effective online visibility for businesses.
“We are excited to announce that we’ve delivered on that promise,” said Gavin Burnett, CEO of Locafy.
All of Locafy’s publishing and SEO products are designed to drive visibility in search engines and, increasingly, AI-driven search tools and marketplaces. Recent research shows these optimizations extend across both traditional and emerging search platforms.
“We’ve evolved our technology to influence not only search engine rankings but also AI search results,” said Burnett. “Our platform helps position our clients’ websites as authoritative sources for high-value keywords, across local, national, and e-commerce campaigns.”
Burnett added, “We’ve also automated the creation of AI-search-ready landing pages, opening up a greenfield opportunity for scaled monetization. Our U.S. directory includes more than 9.68 million direct business listings, and our citation management partners publish more than 28 million business listings across our directories. Each of these represents either a direct sales opportunity or a chance to collaborate with partners using the data we already publish on their behalf.”
Locafy is focused on three primary solution categories:
- Online Business Listings
- Local SEO
- AI-powered engagement tools
Online Business Listings
Locafy continues to assert that online business listings form the cornerstone of successful Local SEO. These listings supply structured data that fuels automated SEO product generation. Locafy currently publishes more than 9.5 million listings in the U.S. and remains focused on partnerships with citation management firms and multi-location businesses. It is also exploring acquisitions of databases, directories, and citation management assets.
The Total Addressable Market (TAM) for the Local SEO solution in their key target markets of USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK is more than 40 million businesses.
“We currently host more than 63 million business listings worldwide, of which more than 40 million are in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the UK,” said Burnett. “However, our direct sales opportunity is more than 11.4 million, plus we have more than 28 million listings that we publish on behalf of partners, who can now connect to our Platform to automate the production of our Local SEO products for their clients.”
| Country | Partner Added* | Claimed* |
| Australia | 2,145,707 | 652,351 |
| Canada | 1,533,479 | 289,274 |
| United Kingdom | 3,458,205 | 802,003 |
| United States of America | 33,076,154 | 9,684,329 |
| TOTAL | 40,213,545 | 11,427,957 |
Local SEO
The flagship solution, Localizer, integrates listing syndication, AI-search optimization, review management, and Google Map Pack enhancement.
“We haven’t seen another product that combines these capabilities—at a price point starting around
AI-powered Engagement Tools
In addition to improving search visibility, Locafy has developed a scalable, cost-effective AI Voice Concierge that can serve as a virtual receptionist, product expert, or customer service agent.
“This is our first step into AI-enabled customer engagement,” said Burnett. “Our Voice Concierge acts like a digital team member—it can take bookings, provide answers, and interact 24/7. Just feed it your business documents and it learns. We record and transcribe every interaction, giving clients full transparency.
“This kind of capability once felt like science fiction, but it’s here now—and Locafy is helping businesses adapt and thrive in an AI-powered world.”
Over the past six months, Locafy has streamlined its product suite, automated key production processes, and validated product performance through live testing. With this foundation in place, the Company is poised for commercial growth in FY2026.
While the company still offers solutions for National SEO and e-Commerce, it believes the immediate opportunity afforded by its breakthroughs in AI Search represents a larger and more scalable revenue opportunity with far greater automation already in place.
About Locafy
Locafy (Nasdaq: LCFY, LCFYW) is a globally recognized software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology company specializing in local search engine marketing. Founded in 2009, Locafy’s mission is to revolutionize the US
Investor Relations Contact:
Matt Glover
Gateway Group, Inc.
(949) 574-3860
LCFY@gateway-grp.com
Apple has launched an appeal against an “unprecedented” €500m (£430m) fine imposed by the EU on the company, in the latest clash between US tech companies and Brussels.
The iPhone maker accused the European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – of going “far beyond what the law requires” in a dispute over its app store.
In April, the commission fined Apple €500m after finding the company had breached the Digital Markets Act by preventing app developers from steering users to cheaper deals outside the app store.
Last month, Apple overhauled its app store rules to comply with the EU order to scrap its technical and commercial curbs on developers in order to avoid fines of 5% of its average daily worldwide revenue, or about €50m a day.
As a result Apple introduced new fee structures for developers using its app store. On Monday, Apple accused Brussels of making it deploy “confusing” business terms in order to avoid the threat of fines.
“Today we filed our appeal because we believe the European Commission’s decision – and their unprecedented fine – go far beyond what the law requires,” said Apple, announcing an appeal to the general court, the second highest court in the EU. “As our appeal will show, the EC is mandating how we run our store and forcing business terms which are confusing for developers and bad for users.”
Apple also accused the commission of unlawfully expanding the definition of “steering” – or the language and methods the company allows developers to use when guiding consumers outside its app stores.
The company said officials on Brussels had changed the definition by, for instance, not just focusing on whether app developers should be allowed to link to an external website, but also on whether developers should be permitted to promote offers inside an app.
Donald Trump’s senior trade adviser, Peter Navarro, has accused the EU of using “lawfare” against big US tech companies, describing the use of regulations against American companies such as Apple and Meta as part of a barrage of “non-tariff weapons” used for by foreign states against the US.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission vice-president responsible for tech sovereignty, said in April that the EU will not rip up its tech rules in an attempt to agree a trade deal with the US. In January, Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of the Facebook owner Meta, accused the EU of “institutionalising censorship” via its digital rules.
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Trump has set a 9 July deadline to seal a trade deal with the bloc – with the threat of imposing a 50% tariff on EU imports into the US if agreement is not reached.
Tom Smith, a competition lawyer at Geradin Partners and a former legal director at the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, said Apple “fundamentally hates” attempts to change its app store.
“The blunt truth is that it is worth spending a few million on legal fees in order to disrupt and delay the development of a more open app ecosystem, which is a market that is worth many billions a year to Apple,” he said.
The European Commission has been approached for comment.
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