Majority of Gen Xers Say Advice Would Help With Financial Goals

In the past 12 months, 34% of Gen Xers have considered delaying their original retirement date, according to T. Rowe Price’s report, “Retirement Savings and Spending,” with a focus on members of Generation X.

Forty-seven percent think they will work at least part-time in retirement, 38% think they will have to reduce their standard of living, and 23% think they will run out of money, according to the report, which is based on a survey of 1,506 members of Generation X that Brightwork Partners conducted for T. Rowe Price last March.

However, the picture is not all bleak. Thirty-five percent think they will have enough money to pay for health care, 33% think they will live as well as or better than they did when they were working, 22% think they will be able to leave money to charities, and 19% think they will be able to help younger family members with tuition or housing expenses. Furthermore, 45% of Gen Xers think they are on track to meet their financial goals.

For members of Gen X, they No. 1 financial objective is having financial peace of mind, cited by 77%, followed by maintaining an acceptable quality of life (70%), saving for retirement through their workplace retirement plan (65%), reducing debt (53%), budgeting for day-to-day expenses (50%) and saving for retirement outside the workplace plan, such as through a savings account or an individual retirement account (IRA) (48%).

When Gen Xers were asked how much progress their household is making for various financial goals, 86% said they are maintaining an acceptable quality of life, 84% said they’re budgeting for day-to-day expenses, 83% said they are saving for retirement through their workplace retirement plan, 82% said they’re contributing to their health savings account (HSA), 80% said they have financial peace of mind, and 75% indicated they are reducing debt.

Asked whether advice would be helpful in achieving various financial goals, 63% of Gen Xers said it would be helpful for saving to purchase a primary residence, 65% said saving for retirement in a workplace plan, 65% said leaving money for their heirs, 55% said saving for such emergencies as losing their job or facing unexpected expenses, 53% said contributing to their HSA, and 53% said reducing debt.

Asked about various advice attributes, 57% of Gen Xers said they would like it to be easy to use, 42% would like it to include alerts about critical developments in their account, 39% would like for it to not require a great deal of their time, 39% would like for it to be flexible in terms of when they can access it, 37% would like it to be personalized to their particular financial situation, 37% would like it to fit into their work schedule, and 33% would like for it to educate them about how best to achieve their financial objectives.

Additionally, 34% would like advice to motivate them to stay on track, 31% would like for it to be accessible when they need it for such life events as having children or losing a job, 27% would like for it to include a relationship with an adviser, 28% would like for it to be accessible on a mobile device, 26% would like for it to include digital prompts to help keep them on track, and 21% would like for it to include referrals to other financial professionals such as tax or insurance experts.

Forty percent of Gen Xers would like for advice to be delivered solely by a human adviser, but nearly as many, 39%, would like for it to be a combination of an adviser and digital advice. Only 11% would like to rely solely on digital advice.

As to how they get advice, 69% of Gen Xers receive it through their employer. Fifty-nine percent use digital tools and calculators made available to them through their workplace retirement plan; 58% use calculators and tools on the Internet on their own; 52% turn to family, friends and co-workers; 49% rely on their employer, and 48% use an adviser made available to them through their workplace retirement plan.

Gen Xers say, on average, that they have $141,000 saved in their 401(k) plan, and that in the past 12 months, they saved 13% of their income for retirement. On average, they say they will need to save 11% of their income for a comfortable retirement. Forty-five percent are enrolled in an HSA.

T. Rowe Price’s full report on Generation X can be downloaded here.