Generation X, the cohort of Americans that will be next to retire, is suffering a crisis of confidence in its chances to retire in comfort.
Only 18% of Gen X workers are confident they can “fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle,” according to a new report from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
Only 25% of Gen X workers strongly believe they have a nest egg sufficient to fund their retirement. More than half of Gen Xers say they plan to keep working in retirement.
The report, released Oct. 28, is titled Stressed and Strained: Four Generations Strive for Retirement Security. It draws from surveys of 6,153 workers in late 2025.
The findings span four generations of workers, but many of the most striking data points come in the section on Generation X.
Generation X Was Slow to Adopt 401(k) Saving
Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen X entered the workforce mostly in the 1980s and 1990s, as employers transitioned from pensions to 401(k) retirement plans.
And that may be where their problems began. Much of the nation wasn’t yet familiar with the 401(k). As a result, the average Gen X worker didn’t start saving in a 401(k) plan until age 30. By contrast, the average millennial started saving at age 26, in an era when the 401(k) was more widely embraced.
“Even among Gen X workers who were offered a 401(k), back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, chances are they were unaware how crucial those savings would be down the road, when they retired,” said Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center.
Today, the report found, the typical Gen X worker has $113,000 saved in household retirement accounts.
Most Gen Xers think their retirement savings won’t go very far. The typical Gen X worker expects to need $750,000 in savings to be financially secure.
Gen X Is Least Confident About Retiring in Comfort
Among all generations, Gen X is the least confident of retiring “with a comfortable lifestyle,” the report found. Just 18% feel very confident, compared with 23% of millennials and 28% of boomers.
Gen X is also the least confident in its retirement savings. Only 25% of Gen Xers strongly believe they have a “large enough retirement nest egg,” compared with 33% of boomers and 29% of millennials.
With all those retirement fears, the average Gen X worker doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon. Just 23% of Gen Xers expect to retire before age 65, the report found, compared with 36% of millennials and 47% of Gen Z. And 36% of Gen X expects to retire at age 70 or later, if at all.
“As the oldest [Gen Xers] are entering their 60s, they’re looking for ways to shore up their retirement savings,” Collinson said. “And a natural way is to work longer and retire at an older age.”
Working into your 70s might sound like a great plan, but it might not work. The average American worker actually retires at age 62, according to research from Transamerica and the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
“And many retire sooner than planned,” Collinson said, often through a job loss or health setback.
Gen X Is Counting on Social Security but Fears It Won’t Be There
With retirement savings lagging, Generation X expects to lean heavily on Social Security.
And a large majority of Gen Xers fear the retirement trust fund will run short: 77% believe Social Security “will not be there for me,” the highest quotient of any generation.
One reason for their angst: Older Gen Xers will reach traditional retirement age around 2032, the year when the Social Security trust fund will be depleted, barring action by Congress to restore it.
Many Gen Xers Are Behind on Planning Basics
Despite their impending retirement, the report says, many Gen Xers lack financial literacy in planning for their next life stage.
Only 35% of Gen X workers use professional financial advisers, the report says, compared with 46% of boomers.
Only 54% of Gen Xers said they are familiar with catch-up contributions, a strategy for boosting 401(k) balances later in life that could help aging workers shore up their savings.
And when the Transamerica survey asked Gen X workers how they had estimated their retirement savings goal, 47% said they “guessed.”
Reporting by Daniel de Visé, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
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