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Gen X spending power could reshape marketing strategies<\/p>\n
Gen X drives trillions in global spending and that could prompt marketers to rethink generational focus.<\/p>\n
For Generation X, retirement beckons. And reality still bites.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A raft of new surveys suggest the MTV Generation is regretful about past financial missteps, anxious about the current economy and fretful about the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many Gen Xers sense they haven\u2019t saved nearly enough to fund a comfortable retirement. They wish they had started saving sooner. They fear outliving their savings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gen Xers also worry the stock market is about to crash, a scenario with which they are all too familiar, having survived the Great Recession of 2008.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Generation X, born between roughly 1965 and 1980, will be next to retire after the baby boom. Some Gen Xers are retiring now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a generation largely defined by financial uncertainty. Generation X was the first to cope without ubiquitous workplace pensions, relying instead on a new savings tool called\u202fthe 401(k)<\/a>. The Great Recession stands as the generation\u2019s defining economic event.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n The oldest Gen Xers turn 60 this year. They may not be ready for what comes next.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most Gen Xers aren’t ready for retirement<\/p>\n More than half of Generation X don\u2019t think they will be financially prepared for retirement when the time comes, according to one new report<\/a>, released in September by Northwestern Mutual.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gen Xers believe they will need $1.6 million to retire in comfort, according to the insurer\u2019s 2025 Planning & Progress Study. That\u2019s higher than the retirement \u201cmagic number\u201d for other Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\n But most in Generation X don\u2019t have nearly that much saved. A majority report having no more than two or three times their annual income in retirement savings.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n More than half of Gen X think they will outlive their savings, the survey found, a common scenario in an era when Americans are living longer<\/a>. By contrast, only two-fifths of boomers and older Americans fear running out of money in retirement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nearly half of Gen X plan to continue working in retirement, or are already doing so, generally out of necessity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Only one-quarter of Gen Xers expect to leave an inheritance when they die.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n One takeaway from the survey, Northwestern Mutual officials said, is that not enough Gen Xers have formal retirement plans. Only one-third of survey respondents said they are working with a financial adviser.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey need to sit down with a trusted adviser to map out what their retirement plan looks like,\u201d said Hugh McFadden<\/a>, managing director at Northwestern Mutual.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Northwestern Mutual survey reached 4,626 adults, including 969 high-wealth Americans with investable assets greater than $1 million.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Gen X struggled to recover from the Great Recession<\/p>\n Generation X\u2019s retirement fears are not unfounded.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Gen Xers ages 45 to 54 had a median net worth of\u202fabout $247,000<\/a>\u202fin 2022, according to the federal Survey of Consumer Finances.\u202fThat\u2019s less money than baby boomers had at the same age, after inflation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The contrast suggests Generation X has struggled more than other age groups to recover from the Great Recession.\u202fEvery generation suffered in 2008, but economic research suggests Gen X suffered more than most.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think the recession really did a number on us,\u201d said McFadden, who is a Gen Xer. \u201cPeople think, What if I retire right before the market drops 40%?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Gen Xers fear a market crash is nigh<\/p>\n Another new survey<\/a> suggests Gen Xers worry another downturn may be coming.\u00a0<\/p>\n Only 19% of Gen X think now is a good time to invest in the market, compared with 39% of Gen Z, 36% of millennials and 29% of boomers, according to a Sept. 25 report from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.\u00a0<\/p>\n More than half of Gen X fear a market crash is coming, Allianz Life found.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s understandable that a generation approaching retirement would worry about an economic downturn, said Kelly LaVigne<\/a>, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life. A market drop might sap retirement savings that Gen Xers were planning to spend.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t, if you\u2019re retiring in four or five years, make up for a major loss right now,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re in the crunch time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to market volatility, Generation X is struggling with inflation. Seven in 10 Gen Xers say inflation has hampered their savings. Eight in 10 worry they might not be able to afford their desired retirement lifestyle because of rising costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Allianz Life survey reached a nationally representative sample of 1,005 adults.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gen X regrets past financial missteps<\/p>\n A third report<\/a>, issued by a financial planning group, found Generation X looking back with regret on past financial lapses.\u00a0<\/p>\n Only 37% of Gen Xers are satisfied with their retirement savings, according to a report from the CFP Board<\/a>, released Sept. 24. Fewer than two in five Gen Xers feel they have achieved their financial goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n More than half of Gen Xers said they wish they had started planning for retirement sooner.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal with this report was saying, for millennials and for Zoomers, you have an opportunity to learn from Gen X,\u201d said Kevin Roth<\/a>, managing director of research for the CFP Board.\u00a0<\/p>\n Generation X entered the workforce as workplace pensions were fading, leaving most workers to build their own retirement savings with 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n But 401(k) plans were few and far between in the early years. Many Gen Xers got a late start in retirement saving.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n