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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowComing after the baby boomers, Generation X is often referred to as “the forgotten generation,” the self-reliant generation and perhaps the last free-range generation. Today, you certainly could argue that it’s becoming the financial-panic generation.
The first Gen Xers hit the workforce right around the time pensions gave way to 401(k) accounts with self-directed invested assets. Recent studies indicate that Gen Xers who have retirement accounts have saved on average somewhere in the neighborhood of $180,000. That’s well below the $1 million popularly seen as the minimum requirement for beginning a comfortable retirement. (Of course, the ability to sustain income in retirement depends a lot on your spending habits and the quality of life you try to pursue.)
Nearly 50% of Gen Xers don’t even have a retirement plan, according to asset management firm Schroders. So IBJ Podcast host Mason King began compiling some of the most common questions his fellow Gen Xers ask about pending retirement or, if need be, semiretirement. For example, when is the best time to start taking Social Security, especially given that it’s headed for a funding deficit in 2033? What exactly do you do with your 401(k) funds once you retire? And what should you start doing today if your retirement savings are in the five figures or low six figures? In this week’s episode of the IBJ Podcast, columnist Pete the Planner weighs in on the big questions for Gen X and warns against a common strategy for diversifying portfolios that King thought was genius.
Click here to find the IBJ Podcast each Monday. You can also subscribe at iTunes, Tune In, Spotify and any other place you find podcasts.
You can also listen to these recent episodes:
IBJ Podcast: Purdue’s plans for downtown Indy and city’s move to fix West Street
IBJ Podcast: CEO of fast-growing Indy housing developer on urban and suburban markets, being ‘a joiner’
IBJ Podcast: Doug Boles on his ‘physically and emotionally draining’ May in dual role for Speedway, IndyCar
IBJ Podcast: How Irsay’s daughters carved out big roles with Colts and could handle succession
IBJ Podcast: Explaining the Indy 500 tumult, Team Penske scandal and firings, and what’s important
IBJ Podcast: Whatever happened to downtown’s elevated People Mover?
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Concerning health insurance prior to 65 (Cobra vs Exchanges) if one retires prior to 65; one can also get private insurance that is most likely better coverage and lower premiums than Cobra or the Exchanges as long as they qualify. Contact me for more information: LifeCycle Insurance Advisors, 317.886.6506 or [email protected]
Hearing Gen Xers having such low savings makes me even more scared for the generations after which probably have even less…