Generation-X is confronting many challenges in the job market and financially. They are stuck between Baby Boomers, holding tightly onto their leadership roles, and younger Millennials, gunning for the Gen-Xers’ jobs. Therefore, many workers are feeling stuck. Because of the squeeze, 64.2% of this cohort live paycheck to paycheck.
According to a recent survey by the National Institute of Retirement Security, 40% of Gen-Xers have zero savings. The report called the data “alarming,” as this generation will not be able to afford their current standard of living in retirement. The study attributed the lack of savings to the globalization that took hold as Gen-Xers entered the workforce. During their working years, they saw a shift in defined-benefit pension plans to defined-contribution plans, like 401(k)s.
“Gen-Xers are fast approaching retirement age, but the data indicate that the vast majority are not even close to having enough savings to retire,” NIRS Executive Director Dan Doonan said in a statement. “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.”
Gen-X, also known as latch-key kids or the “MTV Generation,” were born between 1965 and 1980. This cohort has been viewed as the often overlooked and largely forgotten “middle child” generation, as it got lost in the shadows of the much larger Baby Boomer generation and preceded the very vocal Millennials.
Gen-Xers are currently between the ages of 42 and 56, and are either in their peak earning years or looking to wind down their careers and retire soon. They comprise around one-third of the American workforce, according to the Pew Research Center.
Growing Up Differently
Gen-Xers were shaped by the events that took place on the global and national stage. As kids, they experienced the bankruptcy of New York City, oil shocks that made families wait in long lines to get their cars filled up at the gas pumps, lingering worries about hostilities with the USSR, American hostages taken in Iran, record levels of inflation and interest rates and the impact of the infamous 1987 Black Friday stock market crash. These factors may have made the disaffected “slacker” generation more robust and used to dealing with tough times.
Financial Challenges
The challenges made them hardy. In late middle age, they face the continued pressure to keep earning a living, in what’s been a rocky road for the last number of years. They need to build up enough funds to retire or have the strength to keep on working. Gen-X carry more debt burdens than other generations.
Gen-X makes up a majority of the sandwich generation, who are adults with a parent 65 years or older who are raising a minor or providing for an adult child, according to BetterUp.
In a Policygenius Sandwich Generation survey, more than 60% of respondents said they are stressed out about how much it costs to take care of at least three generations: their parents, their immediate family (self and spouse) and children.
Gen-X should be in the prime of their careers, but are still being left behind. The Harvard Business Review reported that Gen-X has largely been overlooked for promotions at higher rates than Millennials and Baby Boomers. Sixty-six percent of Gen-Xers received only one promotion or none between 2014 and 2019, when the research was published. Millennials and Baby Boomers were more likely to receive two or more promotions during the same period.
Successful Gen-Xers
Despite their challenges, Gen-Xers are a resilient generation. They are known for their work ethic, independence, indifference to what people think of them and their ability to adapt to change.
There are several successful Gen-Xers, despite their label of being “slackers.” Entrepreneurs Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Jack Dorsey and Mark Cuban are amongst the most prominent of this cohort.
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