Gen X Men vs. Gen X Women: Median Retirement Savings

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Whether you are seeking the guidance of a financial advisor or crunching numbers in your own retirement calculator, how much you are saving for your long-term retirement plan can ebb and flow based on a lot of factors. The average retirement savings by age could shock you, which is also only further hindered by the rising cost of living across the board.

For Generation X, the demographic age group sandwiched between baby boomers and millennials, retirement is no longer a life event far-flung into the future, it’s more like the catalyst for your midlife crisis. Rather, this post-work time is coming fast — and when it comes to their retirement savings, many Americans born between 1965 and 1980 are not prepared — with or without factoring in Social Security benefits.

How Much Has Gen X Saved?

A 2023 study conducted by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), entitled “The Forgotten Generation: Generation X Approaches Retirement,” examined a wide range of metrics for assessing retirement preparedness — including sponsorship, take-up and participation rates in employer-provided retirement plans. The study used research census data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

According to this report, the typical Gen X household has only $40,000 in retirement savings. The median account balance for a Gen X individual is only $10,000. This might be a reasonable nest egg if you still have 20 years or 30 years to save for retirement, but if you’re closing in on age 65, this could be sum could feel a bit scarier. 

Additionally, the study showed a distinct gender disparity in retirement readiness.

“Women fall behind men in every measure of retirement preparedness,” the report stated. “Women have lower annual earnings, lower net worth and are more likely to fall short of savings targets.”

Here are some other key takeaways: 

• This statistic could be partially attributable to Gen X women being more likely to work part-time coming in at 18% compared to 7% of men.
• Only about 55% of Gen Xers are participating in an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan.
• The average private retirement account balances for Gen X men and women are $156,333 and $101,497, respectively. 
• The median retirement savings is $6,000 for Gen X women, more than half that for single Gen X men at $13,000.

However, there are no real winners as the retirement outlook for all genders looks bleak.

“Generation X represents the leading edge of the new retirement in America,” said Tyler Bond, co-author of the report and NIRS research director, in an interview with Yahoo Finance.

“As the first generation to mostly enter the workforce after the move away from defined benefit pensions in the private sector, most Gen Xers will not enjoy the secure retirement income that pensions have provided to so many in previous generations.”

What’s To Blame? It Could Be Changes to Pension Plans 

The report highlights the difficulties facing Gen X workers planning for retirement. Because Generation X individuals mostly entered the workforce after this shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) plans in the private sector, the burden of planning and saving for retirement rests more heavily on its shoulders than it had for baby boomers.

While the study found that many Gen Xers may have private retirement accounts, a significant amount holds a zero balance. Those with DC savings earn more than those without, regardless of gender, but 42% of women and 39% of men who have private accounts have no savings at all.

Retirement becomes more expensive with each successive generation as Americans continue to live longer. Healthcare and housing costs continue to increase and will be a major financial burden for Gen Xers in their retirement years, so it’s important for “the forgotten generation,” who are in the peak of their earning years, to start saving now.

“Accruing savings takes time, and Social Security alone won’t provide enough retirement income,” Bond suggested in a statement. “So, it’s critically important that we change course quickly. The status quo means we are looking at elder poverty for many Gen-Xers and pressure on their families for support.”

Final Take To GO

The bottom line is that whether you have a 401(k) or Roth IRA, saving for retirement is imperative to your financial future. However, not only are there hardships for every generation, especially those close to or entering retirement like Gen X, but there are also large disparities in retirement savings by gender. 

David Nadelle contributed to the reporting for this article.

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