The “forgotten generation,” about 64 million Americans born between 1965 to 1980 and known as Generation X, are unprepared financially for retirement, according to a new study, warning about their “dismal retirement outlook.”
The National Institute on Retirement Security wrote in a report that Generation X was the first generation to enter the labor market following the shift from defined benefit pension plans to 401(k)-style defined contribution accounts.
Author of the report and NIRS research director, Tyler Bond, wrote in a statement, “When looking at median retirement savings levels for Generation X, report finds that the bottom half of earners have only a few thousand dollars saved for retirement, and the typical household has only $40,000 in retirement savings.” Shockingly, the study found approximately 40% of the generation have saved not even a single cent towards retirement.
The report relies upon data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. This nationally representative survey provides income, employment, household composition, and government program participation data. Here are more key findings from the report:
- Slightly more than half (55%) of Gen Xers are participating in an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan.
- Most Gen Xers, regardless of race, gender, marital status, or income, are failing to meet retirement savings targets.
“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,” NIRS Executive Director Dan Doonan told CBS News.
In June, we cited a separate study that called Generation X, the “Broke Generation,” after a whopping 64% of respondents said they quit saving for retirement not because they didn’t want to but couldn’t afford to.
As for millennials…
Is the American Dream dead? pic.twitter.com/fA8PTCwKos
— Chairman (@WSBChairman) July 16, 2023
Article cross-posted from Zero Hedge.
Controlling Protein Is One of the Globalists’ Primary Goals
Between the globalists, corporate interests, and our own government, the food supply is being targeted from multiple angles. It isn’t just silly regulations and misguided subsidies driving natural foods away. Bird flu, sabotaged food processing plants, mysterious deaths of entire cattle herds, arson attacks, and an incessant push to make climate change the primary consideration for all things are combining for a perfect storm to exacerbate the ongoing food crisis.
The primary target is protein. Specifically, they’re going after beef as the environmental boogeyman. They want us eating vegetable-based proteins, lab-grown meat, or even bugs instead of anything that walked the pastures of America. This is why we launched a long-term storage prepper beef company that provides high-quality food that’s shelf-stable for up to 25-years.
At Prepper All-Naturals, we believe Americans should be eating real food today and into the future regardless of what the powers-that-be demand of us. We will never use lab-grown beef. We will never allow our cattle to be injected with mRNA vaccines. We will never bow to the draconian diktats of the climate change cult.
Visit Prepper All-Naturals and use promo code “veterans25” to get 25% off plus free shipping on Ribeye, NY Strip, Tenderloin, and other high-quality cuts of beef. It’s cooked sous vide, then freeze dried and packaged with no other ingredients, just beef. Stock up for the long haul today.
Glad I’m a boomer.
Oh the irony and tone-deafness displayed in your comment. Good for you.
Well said.
Liberal capitalism produced the atomized, pig consumer boomers. Many of them are now being robbed and murdered by the freaks they helped create. In just one generation, jews and white pig traitors #fucked up everything. We need something very fast, and it definitely is not socialism. Homelands for white people would be a good start.
The children of the boomers have a plan, inherit there parents estates. Good luck with that, we are going to spend it ALL!
More seniors I know are taking out reverse mortgages so there will be no “family home” inflated real estate to inherit. Do they really know what their parents have done with that equity, when they Zillow the value of their parent’s home?
You’re the one who was tone deaf when we told you not to vote for democrats. As the illegal aliens say, “disfrute.”
Must be a Gen X-er….or worse.
I’m a boomer too but I never had any kind of income boost in my life. I was abandoned by my ex husband after our second child was born because he became Peter Pan and Mr. Disco. A lot of us boomers struggled through that awful recession and stagflation of jimmy carters time too. Gas prices went sky high during that time, we had to ration gas and get on line for whatever our license plates told us—odd or even days.
How many ballistic missiles are you armed with. Also, what is your crush depth?
Too bad so many young people today hate America, hate profits and hatecorporations .Thus they missed even investing in mutual funds, let alone supporting the US economy and capitalism model.
Boomers did pull a fast one – which included telling younger gernations to worry more about “climate change”, while in fact boomer pensions have robbed younger generations blind leaving them with nothing. Boomers will be gone when these young people finally wake up and find everything has already been spent .
Tried to tell them, but they kept voting Democrat anyway to get all the “free stuff”. Not okay, boomers. Really not okay Gens XYZ-A. China officially owns you. Learn Mandarin.
Most GenX ers I know are honest. Maybe when all ya’ self righteous, selfish, greedy jerks are dead, we’ll have time to fix it again.
No surprise.. as a boomer, in general… most boomers suck
As opposed to BLM, Antifa, drag queens, LGBTQXYZ’s, Starbucks Baristas, street thugs, and college students, right? GFY.
So does your mom.
Say hi to her for me.
They got theirs. Just read the back pages of the IRS 1040 booklet – and see how much US government revenue comes from borrowed money – and how much interest on that debt future generations are now forced to pay.
Just so boomers could live like fat cats on their curious brand of social welfare. You will be paying for boomer government pensions for the rest of your lives. You were warned. Tell us why you ignored those warnings and danced to the “climate change” gas-lighting instead?
While inflation is higher, so are wages. The REAL truth is, certain individuals did not plan accordingly…and now retirement/reality is closing in and it’s society’s fault? These same individuals have cars, gadgets, trendy clothing etc. “It’s a steady drip that fills the bucket”- financial wisdom from my Grandparents (who had WAY less BTW and were able to retire fairly comfortably).
Robots in homes will assist retirees in ways we use paid caregivers for.
I hope you will enjoy sitting in your own feces because because no one will care for you because bankrupted your family and the nation so you could live forever as a 20 something hippie. The boomers calling Gen Xers lazy are the same ones that helped set up the impossible inflation and managed decline that started in the 70’s.
Boomer here; still working to pile in more cash. Currently have over $4 million; very very little exposed to the stock market; the majority in high yield savings accounts, CDs, and Money Market funds (even in my 401k). Paid off the house 10 years ago; 3 paid off cars; 2 paid off Harleys. I learned from my parents…become the millionaire next door, not the guy driving the Lambo. Currently make $250k a year; all going into savings and 401k. Will probably slow down next year when I hit 65 and start on Medicare. I pity the Gen-Xers who didn’t go to college, if they did got stupid degrees, and lived for the day instead of saving.
I’m a “boomer” (barely), every person that did what I did regardless of their age is doing just as well if not better than I was at their age. The only problem here is laziness not what generation you’re part of. You can tell the lazy people by all the whining they do. No work, no eat. No work your rear off, no retirement. Lazy people just don’t want to accept the facts of life. They’d rather whine. I think its hillarious.
There is actually a book called Millionaire Next Door published in the 1990’s. Becoming rich thru frugality and conservative investing will allow many to retire where Social Security becomes extra pocket change. I read the book when I got married in 1991. My wife and I adopted the strategy and habits. Live on my pay, and save all of my wife’s take home. Result is large savings on top of my pension/Social Security. I should have learned more about dividend stock strategy in lieu of straight savings. Now that interest rates have risen where CD and gov Treasuries give good interest, that huge pile of cash saved is becoming very useful. Taught my son this strategy. He grad from college with no loans and brought his first car with cash. Banks and car salesman treat you differently when they do a credit check on you. Same with bank reps. My wife and I do not dress the part of a millionaire. That is the fun part. But always remain polite and modest. Congrats to you and your spouse for working together to achieve what you have. Make sure your kids learn from it.
I forgot to add. Have your kids watch Youtube Channel, Prepper Princess. This woman illustrated that you can go to extremes to get out of debt and accumulate wealth. She just turned 40 and have as much as we do.
Whoop-dee f’n Doo. Someone likes bragging. Nobody cares.
No kidding. That Starr character is a real piece of work.
But, setting that nonsense aside, I’ve always known I wouldn’t be retiring. Luckily, I’m a farmer at heart and nothing satisfies me more than to give it my all each day. All those I know that are retired live rather pathetic lives, to be honest. They sit around, go for a walk. For most I know that’s really it. They find out fast that it isn’t that great. Sure, there are the rich that are retired. I know them as well. They are bored to death with the thought of another vacation. If they couldn’t find someone to brag to they’d be very sad.
And for two of my friends that retired within the past two years, they’ve both contacted me about any part time job prospects. All I know of is full time opportunities. I know one thing, within a year or two they’ll be working full time again. There’s no shame in that. Work is a great thing. People that think that having enough money to sit around and do nothing is a sign of success are rather slow in the IQ dept I’ve found. I haven’t reached retirement age but I have some savings. I could retire I’m sure when the time comes, but I know I won’t. I’m gonna keep pushing on, and enjoying every minute.
“Generation” be damned. There are idiots of all ages. You either plan for the future or you do not. This article acts like the GenXers have it so bad. They made their bed.
100% truth
Settle down, sonny.
…and there’s an idiot now.
Absolutely. Thanks for bringing some sanity to the unenlightened.
All current generations are paying for the excess of the previous generations.
If the previous generations had paid their fair share the social security trust fund would not only not be filled with IOUs, but it would be flush with about $27 Trillion dollars of actual wealth.
The United States of America would not have a $33 Trillion debt costing a $Trillion a year and rising to service, by the current workers. That means that officially, the prior generation overspent by $60 trillion and is expecting future slaves to pay it off, fund the retirees multi decade long end of life vacations and still find enough resources to build up their own retirement savings.
It’s always been a ponzi scheme.
It all gets down to today’s D voters trading their votes for more free stuff. That explains all the karma they’re getting in the future.
That’s why anyone taking free stuff from taxpayers shouldn’t be able to vote.
I lost my job in 2003 and I had to cash out everything except my pension. I lost everything and had to start over again in 2006. So even though I am a baby boomer, my savings portfolio is that of a Gen-X. Over the last 10 years I have averaged more than 17% of my income to 401K. I understood that home ownership in CA was going to be impossible. So, I moved to NC where the housing is affordable. I have lived modestly and have a house payment that is within my budget. Regarding savings, I have no compassion for those who lived lavishly and spent their money foolishly. However, I do have compassion for those younger than me who think that Social Security is going to be around when they retire. Our government has squandered our money. If the amounts I contributed to SSI were allowed to gain a modest 4% interest annually I would have well over $2 million. As it stands, SSI will run out before 2033. Gen X people should be rightfully pissed off.
“Okay boomer.”
Me: “Yeah, better’n bein’ a Gen Xer.”
This is what you get for voting for democrats.
Republicans have tried since the late 70’s to submit fixes to social security. But noooooooo!! Democrats and AARP just kept scaring the bejeesus out of old people time and again and getting any and all possible fixes squashed. AARP and the democrats wouldn’t even allow serious discussions about how to fix it. Now, the whole social security house of cards is about to come down. Thank the real culprits….AARP and the democrats.
Thanks for the laugh. Copping,,, coping cabana. A lack of education, responsibility and maturity along with a dependance on the state is the difference between previous generations and the current. Indoctrination has you believing it was previous generation that are responsible for your lot in life and not government corruption and incompetence or possibly your lack of drive and propensity to blame others.
Nothing previous generation about it. By definition I am a boomer and have watched it all these years first hand. AARP, one of the largest insurance scammers on the planet….and one of the democrat party’s largest donors. We had to cancel five of my mom’s various AARP health insurance accounts that did NOTHING for her.
Thanks to Democrats and globalists.
Of all my baby boomer friends about half are in same situation. No money for retirement.
Most are living with their kids. But many never had kids because it was not fashionable.
Most have always said they would have to work until they died. But now they have found that old age sickness has made it near impossible to work so that plan failed. You can’t go to your construction job using a walker.
I think the biggest problem is the reduced wages over the last 40 years.
Bachelors degree in engineering/technology in 1975 starting salary = 24k/yr.
Since then inflation has risen by a factor of 5.
So the starting salary of an engineer/technologist today should be 125k$.
But it’s only about 55k$. And worse, the salary of a life time engineer facing retirement
is only about 100k$. And that’s even if he still has a job in engineering and has not been replaced by an H1B.
Today’s retiring engineer doesn’t actually make as much as he was making at his first job out of college.
And yet we hear big companies complain they can’t find enough technologists and thus need more H1Bs.
In the chart above Hourly workers were combined with salaried professionals.
This hides the numbers that show how much more government workers are paid than the majority of americans working for an hourly wage. Low earner vote blue so they can reap it and the few that don’t I feel for.
I am a degreed engineer, went to college on the GI Bill as a Viet Nam era Vet. I was laid off twice during the Obama fiasco, and that wiped out my 401k. Doesn’t take long to burn through piles of cash with a large family when one isn’t able to work for 5-6 months at a time. I was doing fairly well during the Trump years, but the last few Biden years have been terrible. Had to stop working again due to a heart attack and cancer. I recovered from the heart attack and finished my first round of chemo but had to stop further treatments. I simply cannot afford the 20% medicare doesn’t cover. My SS, 70% of it goes towards rent and my food budget is non existent. No way in Hades could I afford the supplemental insurance, I already have $00.00 left for food. No one will hire me because I am an older straight, white male with 40 years experience. Sooooo, I have to ride it out to the end which should be sometime this year, definitely by next year. I hate Democrats, with a passion.
If “retirement” were the determining factor of the American Dream, then yes. But, I believe the Dream is whatever a citizen deems a pursuit of happiness without treading on others’ dreams in the process. Many workers do enjoy their work, and don’t pine for a retirement. True, the majority prefer dat but cannot attain it. So, evolve and only work part-time. Today’s jobs are also are less laborious as when our great-grandparents worked. So working part-time is akin to retirement when you factor in our longer lifespans.
why do government employees have pensions
-when the general public slaves do not
Nonsense. NO…most of us boomers did NOT have vacation homes and jet skis in our 30s…we were lucky to have our homes paid for by the time we retired…real lucky. NO! Pell grants were not available to us out of high school, so better paying jobs weren’t that easy to qualify for. NO, Most of us did not have traditional “pensions.” Even by our day, most pensions were reserved for government workers…the rest of us got IRAs and 401k’s…no pension. We paid in Social Security for 40 years and might have had a decent retirement if we had been able to invest that money. Instead the government not only used our money like it was their investment, until Bill Clinton actually took it, paid down the national debt, and crowed like he had done something besides steal our retirement. Now our retirement is dependent on younger workers…and by the way…the population is imploding. The fact is, the federal government has screwed all of is, will eventually bankrupt, and if the WEF has their way, “you will ALL own nothing.” Stop talking nonsense about generati9nal wealth and put some effort into outing the criminals in Washington DC.
My Grandfather worked for Westinghouse for about 30 years until his mandatory retirement at 65 in 1968. Corporations of his generation had a a societal responsibility to their employees.
In my Boomer Generation we were drunk with Greed and arrogance (The “ME” Generation) we looted many Corporations before shipping the manufacturer plants to China. We changed the rules of law, equity. And Moralityand destroyed what our many of our Grandfather’s and l6 Grandmother’s built.As a result many Boomers Grandchilden will never own a house, get married and have children or even jobs to pay for their parents retirement.
Hmm, I have a $500,000+ saved and I’m GenX. While I went without vacations, brand new cars every 3 years, etc. in order to save, many of my peers lived it up. Too bad they will vote in politicians who will respond to their cries of them being broke and that it’s not fair that I have money saved up, that will then be seized to give to them.
So much for “Free Market” libertarianism. We live in Mickey McMerica.
Our economy was destroyed the day the Rothschilds took over the Federal Reserve in which there is nothing federal nor reserved. They are private bankers.
For those here who are blaming each other, congrats, you are doing exactly what they want you to do.
These same bankers are bringing in your replacements through open borders while they steal every last dollar from you. But keep fighting each other.
Soros, Schwab, Mayorkas, Nuland, Garland, etc etc etc. All members of the same tribe.
WAKE UP!
This problem is not unique to this generation. The real problem is people living beyond their means. The #1 thing that will eat a hole in your wallet is travel. People are addicted to travel like there’s no tomorrow. Folks never traveled as much as they do today compared to 50 years ago. The other thing people piss their money away on is dining out. What in the world is it with dining out? Growing up, we were lucky if we went to a restaurant 4 times in a year. Save me the crocodile tears, stop spending for goodness sakes!
no it is not the real problem..the problem was all the economic shocks and the ww2 and boomer generations looting the treasury especially starting with nixon and reagan
As a Gen X er there is truth in the article about our current and most likely future prospects of struggle. I don’t think my Generation will play the blame game though. Such a waste of time and energy to blame your plight on someone else. I wouldn’t trade my time for other generations because we grew up free. We were latch key kids left to our own devices. We didn’t require constant attention, approval or pats on the back to feel validation. We learned if you fall you get back up and push on. Many of us have run the race ourselves. With no help of others since no help was asked for. Many of us did our best and except responsibility for our own decisions. But to play the blame game is pointless. Run the race by the Grace of God and let the chips fall as they will. In the end the only thing that will matter is did your life bring Glory to the Lord.
“Today, the federal government automatically puts all of the money that should be set aside for the Social Security Trust Fund into the General Fund. Raiding the Social Security Trust Fund was a precedent set in 1968 by another regressive president, Lyndon B. Johnson, to help pay for the Vietnam War. To date, the federal government has borrowed over $2 trillion from the Social Security Trust Fund to spend on other programs.” Demonrats and Repubtards have never bothered fixing this mess. Why bother when they are get killer government pensions & killer heath care the rest of their lives! Demonrats wreck or tax almost everything they touch!
I was prepared until a divorce. Being a man, I got buggered. Not all is lost as I can afford to retire in lovely SE Asia which I would prefer anyway. The US is overrated.
The way boomers talk about laziness is quite surprising and seems like a joke to me. While laziness can be found across different generations, we must acknowledge that the playing field has changed, and there are still glass ceilings that exist.
I can appreciate that my boomer parents achieved remarkable success despite not having degrees or finishing high school, which would be challenging in today’s world. They thrived in a system that rewarded hard work until the ’90s.
As for myself, I’ve worked incredibly hard throughout my life, making every penny count (pinching quarters so hard the eagle screams) and putting myself through college despite facing personal tragedies, I encountered barriers at every turn. No matter how much effort I put into working 12-hour days consistently, it often seemed like success was determined by who you knew or your family background. It can be frustrating to hear about privilege while I spent years teaching boomers and others basic computer skills or working tirelessly creating revenue while others took vacations.
I’ve noticed that many leaders in corporate America don’t necessarily exhibit the same level of hard work and dedication. This seems to have permeated into their teams as well. I know this because it’s easy to see how they coasted once I took up that torch to help others with less to work with.
It’s essential to recognize that there is a who you know/favor/pay-to-play system in place and various caste systems that influence opportunities.
The recent generations are soft in many ways, but GenX was not a spoiled generation, and the mathematics don’t lie. Economically GenX is really no different than the labeled “forgotten generation” of Japan. It shouldn’t be hard for boomers to admit they got a better deal. Outside of Vietnam, they rode a wave of prosperity and experienced a middle class that simply doesn’t exist today. GenX and recent generations off-aim really need Boomers to step up and leave a better place for those that follow. By that, I mean, go vote, and please do us a favor and vote the socialist/communist/fascists out of office… there simply not enough GenX to tilt those scales.
I think the biggest problem is there is no financial training to speak of in grade schools. That should be required and in depth. It would probably be far more useful that algebra II. Kids need to have a rock solid understanding of compound interest and exponential growth and the amazing difference in starting to save young vs later in life. I didn’t know any of this until I was in my 30’s and started saving then. I’m in decent shape for retirement but would be in much better shape if Trump had been re-elected. Trying to make up for lost time is much more difficult than starting young.