Gen Xers and Retirement

1 minute read

A recent report found that 69% of Generation X (Gen X) members want to retire by age 65, but only 37% believe they will be able to. Gen X are those individuals born between 1965 and 1980. Sixty-eight percent of them worry about having to reduce their standard of living in retirement and 11% believe they will never be able to retire.

Retirement Savings

Nearly 80% of Gen Xers have some sort of debt – mortgages, auto loans, and credit card debt. More than half of them have less than $100,000 saved. Twenty-two percent have nothing saved.

Financial Regret

Ninety percent of Gen Xers have financial regrets which include:

• Not saving enough – 43%
• Getting into debt – 34%
• Not investing enough – 33%
• Spending too much on nonessentials – 26%
• Not living within their means – 20%

Eighty percent of Gen Xers wished that they would have started saving for retirement sooner.

Action Steps

Employers can help employees as they face challenges on the road to retirement. Employees can take advantage of their employer 401(k) match program to increase retirement savings. Also, many employers offer financial planning services which can help them plan for retirement. Download the bulletin for more details.