Gen X is entering the retirement zone \u2014 they\u2019re now ages 45 to 60 \u2014 but many feel far from ready. Rising costs, debt and family obligations are making it harder than ever to retire comfortably.<\/p>\n
Financial advisors who work with Gen Xers acknowledge that this generation has faced some unique headwinds when it comes to retirement prep<\/a>. Here\u2019s what they see as the biggest obstacles, and how Gen X can move past them<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to a Nationwide Retirement Institute study<\/a>, 39% of financial advisors believe that rising housing costs \u2014 including rent, mortgage and property taxes \u2014 are the biggest obstacle to their Gen X clients\u2019 retirement readiness. However, on the flip side, owning a home can be a benefit in retirement.<\/p>\n \u201cMany Gen Xers are homeowners and have paid off or are close to paying off their mortgages,\u201d said Suzanne Ricklin, vice president of retention and sales at Nationwide Financial. \u201cA paid-off home not only eliminates a major expense in retirement but also serves as a significant asset that can be leveraged in retirement if you need it.\u201d<\/p>\n Be Aware: 6 Key Signs You\u2019ll Run Out of Retirement Funds Too Early<\/a><\/p>\n Read Next: 5 Clever Ways Retirees Are Earning Up To $1K per Month From Home<\/a><\/p>\n Financial advisors and Gen Xers themselves both view insufficient retirement income as a major obstacle to this generation\u2019s retirement readiness, with 39% of advisors and 32% of Gen Xers seeing this as the top obstacle.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is significant anxiety related to retirement income among Gen X savers,\u201d Ricklin said.<\/p>\n The study found that 25% of Gen X investors are concerned their savings won\u2019t last more than 14 years.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a big risk for those individuals because the average retirement is likely to last longer than 14 years for a healthy person,\u201d Ricklin said. \u201cMany financial advisors share that unease.\u201d<\/p>\n Over one-third (36%) of financial advisors believe that personal or family debt \u2014 including credit card and student loans \u2014 is a major obstacle for their Gen X clients. Gen Xers themselves agree \u2014 20% of Gen X investors cited high levels of personal or family debt as one of the biggest obstacles to their retirement readiness<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSome in this position may feel like they need to choose between paying down debt and investing for their future,\u201d Ricklin said.<\/p>\n However, this doesn\u2019t have to be an all-or-nothing choice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s usually wise to prioritize paying down higher interest debt, but it\u2019s important to balance debt reduction with saving or you may risk missing important opportunities to grow your assets through investment \u2014 particularly if you are still several years away from retirement,\u201d Ricklin said.<\/p>\n Thirty-five percent of financial advisors surveyed said that having to provide financial support for children<\/a> and\/or aging parents is putting a strain on their Gen X clients\u2019 retirement readiness.<\/p>\n \u201cOur data shows this is a serious concern for Gen X,\u201d Ricklin said. \u201cAccording to the Nationwide Retirement Institute\u2019s 2025 Long-term Care survey, nearly half (49%) of Gen Xers who identified as a caregiver said they are afraid caregiving expenses will keep them from ever retiring.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Gen X is facing some major challenges, having a plan to address them can help them retire on time and with sufficient savings<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost impossible to change course without mapping out a plan,\u201d Ricklin said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to identify a lifestyle you can realistically expect to maintain in retirement, understand the expenses you will face in achieving that, and think about how far your income will stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n When Gen X does that, they may find that the numbers don\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s actually a good thing because it will help you spotlight key actions you need to take before retirement, including how much more you may need to save, how you invest that money and what trade-offs you may need to make,\u201d Ricklin said.<\/p>\n She recommended working with a financial professional to help Gen Xers come up with a plan that works or tapping into free or more affordable resources.<\/p>\n \u201cMany workplace retirement plans offer free or low-cost resources for mapping out retirement, planning for decumulation and calculating the expenses you need to plan for,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The sooner Gen Xers map out a realistic plan, the better their chances of retiring on time.<\/p>\n More From GOBankingRates<\/p>\n This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com<\/a>: Gen X Retirement at Risk: 4 Obstacles Advisors Say You Must Tackle Now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gen X is entering the retirement zone \u2014 they\u2019re now ages 45 to 60 \u2014 but many feel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,30200,6067,195690,56522,147,530,13492,195691],"class_list":["post-413007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-financial-advisors","tag-gen-x","tag-nationwide-financial","tag-nationwide-retirement-institute","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-retirement-plans","tag-suzanne-ricklin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}