Nothing Saved? Gen Xers Are Facing a ‘Nightmare’ Retirement Scenario Unless …

A new report suggests that members of Generation X are facing a “nightmare” savings picture as they grow closer to retirement age.

The report, “The Forgotten Generation: Generation X Approaches Retirement,” from the National Institute on Retirement Security focuses on individuals born between 1965 and 1980, noting that those in Gen X represent the first generation to enter the labor market following a broad shift from defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution accounts. As of December 2020, Gen X represented about 64 million Americans, almost 20% of the population, according to the report. Among the report’s key findings was that the median retirement savings for a Gen X household is just $40,000.

“That number should be very concerning to all of us who care about retirement security, because for a generation that is quickly approaching retirement age, $40,000 in savings is not going to be enough to enable them to maintain their standard of living in retirement,” said Tyler Bond, NIRS research director, in a webinar analysis of the report. “So that number should offer real warning to folks today.”

Dan Doonan, NIRS executive director, noted that data from the report shows “the vast majority” of Gen Xers are not close to having sufficient savings as they approach retirement age.

“This really isn’t surprising given the terrible retirement hand that has been dealt to the latchkey generation,” Doonan said. “Most Gen Xers don’t have a pension plan, they’ve lived through multiple economic crises, wages aren’t keeping up with inflation, and costs are rising. The American Dream of retirement is going to be a nightmare for too many Gen Xers.”

Bond said “a large share of Generation X has virtually nothing saved for retirement, and most who are saving are not close to savings targets that will enable them to retire with their current standard of living.” In fact, the report shows that 28% of Gen X households have zero balances for retirement savings. He said the National Institute on Retirement Security, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on the value of retirement security, used Fidelity-recommended retirement savings targets based on age to track how well those in Gen X are investing in preparation for retirement.

“We looked at whether or not Gen Xers are meeting those savings targets,” Bond said. “And we found that across the board – regardless of race, gender, marital status or income, the overwhelming majority of Gen Xers are failing to meet their retirement savings targets.”

When looking at the median, the report found that the bottom quartile of Gen X households has a mere $200 saved for retirement, and the second-lowest quartile only has $4,290. According to the report, 14% of Gen X is covered by a defined benefit plan, while 55% participate in an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan.

Joelle Saad-Lessler, associate professor and associate dean of undergraduate studies at the Stevens Institute, said retirement savings for Gen Xers is skewed heavily toward the highest earners. In addition, the report indicates that Blacks and Hispanics have substantially lower savings and access to retirement plans than whites.

“The workers who do save for retirement and retirement savings plans, they typically earn more than the ones who do not save,” Saad-Lessler said. “So this kind of tells us what we knew from before, which is that part of the reason for these low retirement savings amounts is that people just don’t have enough money. They’re not making enough money to be able to put away in a retirement savings plan.”

The report examined policy solutions that could strengthen retirement preparations for Gen X. Among them, the report noted that through rules that emerged from first SECURE Act 1.0 and then SECURE 2.0, 401(k) and 403(b) plans must allow a long-term, part-time employee to participate in a plan if they work at least 500 hours per year for two consecutive years. “This could represent a meaningful change for many working Gen Xers,” the report said. Tax credits for small businesses that start plans is another promising component of the SECURE legislation for Gen Xers and others, the report said.

In addition, the report pointed to the growth of state-facilitated retirement programs as a potentially important positive development for Gen Xers, particularly those with lower incomes.

The report’s authors also emphasized the importance of Social Security to Gen Xers and suggested that federal legislators could take steps to ensure members of Gen X – and others – can improve their retirement outlook, including shoring up the trust fund to ensure maximum benefit levels, changing the indexing for the special minimum benefit for lifetime low-income earners, and beginning to offer credit for caregiving work, which would be particularly valuable for the “sandwich generation” of Gen X that is often caught between caring for aging parents while raising their children.

Bond emphasized that accruing savings takes time, and “Social Security alone won’t provide enough retirement income.”

“So it’s critically important that we change course quickly,” Bond said. “The status quo means we are looking at elder poverty for many Gen Xers and pressure on their families for support.”