Insufficient Funds

Much like all of the articles I have read about GenX and retirement, the January 10, 2024 article — “After years of economic instability, many Gen Xers could reach retirement age without enough savings” — written by Lane Gillespie on Bankrate.com comes to the same conclusions. Many GenXers are facing a retirement crisis due to insufficient savings. As a result, GenXers may have to work longer than previous generations to achieve a comfortable retirement. Or ANY retirement.

What I find to be a bit tone deaf in these kinds of articles is the reality of what the average person actually earns. I was 40 years old before I finally made $30,000 a year. I was 50 years old before I made a “healthy salary” that allowed me to have some money leftover after monthly bills and expenses. But by then, I was supporting a massive amount of credit card debt which ate up that leftover. Savings? Emergency savings? HA! What’s that???

The reality is that unless your employer has a pension fund, you are probably thinking that Social Security will have to be your monthly retirement check. It would be nice if financial experts could focus on how the AVERAGE person can get to retirement.