Nobody wants to hear they’re becoming their parents, but as we age it’s often inevitable. It’s hard to escape it when their morals, values and idiosyncrasies have been etched into our brains.
Unless, however, we’re talking about retirement saving, planning and investing. When it comes to baby boomers and Gen Xers, their approaches couldn’t be more different.
Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964 (according to Pew Research), number 69 million strong. Pew places Generation X, or Gen X, as those born between 1965 and 1980. There are 65 million Gen Xers, many of whom are turning 65 this year.
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“Gen Xers are more DIY, boomers are more DIFM (do-it-for-me),” says Eric Ludwig, the director of the Center for Retirement Income at the American College of Financial Services. “Gen Xers are more likely to research online and do comparative shopping versus boomers who will ask their circle of friends.”
It makes sense that Gen Xers and baby boomers would approach retirement saving differently. For many of the baby boomers’ working years they had access to pensions and a strong job market. They didn’t have to worry about where their income in retirement would come from. Gen Xers weren’t so lucky. Pensions shifted to 401(k)s, student debt became a thing and more volatile economic times led to less stability in their jobs.
Even today Gen X has it rougher than their predecessors. Many are part of the sandwich generation, taking care of their parents and their children at the same time, and finding it hard to save for retirement.
“From an investing perspective, Gen Xers were given the short end of the stick,” says Sam Nofzinger, general manager of brokerage at Public.com, the online investing app.
“Starting in the 80s and 90s, right when this cohort was getting into the workforce, a lot of companies were moving away from pension plans toward 401(k)s, putting the onus of saving on the individual as opposed to the company.”
In the early days of 401(k)s, people weren’t saving, nor was there a ton of information available about saving, investing and planning for retirement. While some Gen Xers have caught up, many aren’t as confident as baby boomers that they will live comfortably in retirement.
BlackRock’s Read on Retirement survey from last year highlighted that. Among the generations, Gen X was the least likely to feel confident about retirement, with 60% feeling like they were on track and 63% concerned they would outlive their retirement savings. Among working Baby Boomers, 68% are confident they are on track.
Gen X would rather plan for retirement without an advisor
BlackRock also found Gen X was the least likely generation to use financial advisers for retirement planning, preferring to do it alone. Gen Xers are also more comfortable with technology than their older counterparts, which could explain why they aren’t seeking help from financial advisers like the baby boomers.
“Gen Xers are the first generation to really embrace E*Trade (the online trading platform). When robo advisors came out about ten years ago, they were the early adopters compared to baby boomers,” says Ludwig.
That DIY mentality may change as Gen X gets older and has to come up with strategies to draw down savings in retirement. “Saving for retirement is like arithmetic, but spending retirement income is more like calculus,” says Ludwig.
In terms of Social Security benefits, baby boomers are more optimistic
When it comes to Social Security as a retirement tool, a large majority of baby boomers expect it to be a big source of their retirement cash flow and to last their lifetime. While they find recent changes at the Social Security Administration under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) concerning, they don’t think it will impact their funds like younger generations.
The Social Security trust funds are projected to face a shortfall by 2033 and start paying reduced benefits, barring government intervention.
“Generation Xers are less optimistic about whether they will receive it (Social Security), but I think that’s a good thing,” says Ludwig. “It’s actually driving them to save more on their own.”
Gen Xers take a more conservative approach to retirement than baby boomers
Whoever said you get more conservative as you get older hasn’t been hanging out with baby boomers. When it comes to investing and spending, it is the Gen Xers who are being more cautious and conservative, even if they take a more self-directed approach to retirement investing and saving.
“They are a more conservative cohort, they have much higher cash balances. They understand, as they look to retirement, that on one hand they might be taking care of their parents and on the other hand they have to take care of their kids,” says Nofzinger.
Boomers, on the other hand, are not conservative, at least when it comes to spending, says Nofzinger. That’s particularly true of the ones that have been invested over the past ten to fifteen years. “Everything worked out for them,” he says, noting many of the financial projections turned out to be wrong.
Instead of a 6% return on their investments over the long term, they have seen 9% to 10% returns, which has been a huge boost to their portfolios. Additionally, in many places around the country, the value of their homes has appreciated more than expected. “Boomers are riding high,” says Nofzinger.
What baby boomers and Gen X agree on when it comes to retirement
While Gen Xers and Baby Boomers differ in their approach to saving and planning for retirement, they do share some commonalities.
They want a happy and healthy retirement.
How they get there is where they diverge.