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.
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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.
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:
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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.
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Only about 55% of Gen Xers are participating in an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan.
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The average private retirement account balances for Gen X men and women are $156,333 and $101,497, respectively.
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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.
