Generation Money: Gen X's snapshot
Generation Money: Gen X's snapshot
Generation Money: Gen X's snapshot
09.16.2024
As members of the sandwich generation, Gen X appears to be making the most of their money while juggling competing life priorities. More than half of this group have a living parent age 65+ and are either raising a child under 18 or giving financial support to an adult child.
Change has been the name of the game for Gen X. They generally started their professional lives when the way Americans work started to look different, including how to save for the future. 401(k) plans entered the scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s,1 and Gen Xers have now set aside an average 401(k) balance of $495,454, according to Empower Personal DashboardTM data.
Many in Gen X have saved for the future in addition to 401(k) plans – such as through IRAs – with their overall retirement savings now adding up to an average of $769,125.
Gen X Asset Allocation
Balance again comes into play when thinking about financial security. Many Gen Xers think the most important financial lesson they learned was to have an emergency fund. They have a median savings of $868 to handle unexpected expenses, coming in second behind Baby Boomers (who’ve socked away $1,000). According to Empower data, cash also has a firm hold in Gen X investors’ portfolios, accounting for a quarter of their investments (25%).
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1 Wall Street Journal, “As Generation X Approaches Retirement, Reality Still Bites,” August 2024.
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The Currency editors
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The CurrencyTM, a publication from Empower, covers the latest financial news and views shaping how we live, work, and play. We keep you current on ways to plan, save, and invest for life.
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