The Slacker generation might have been slacking off when it came to planning for retirement.
Why it matters: The first members of Gen X were born in January 1965, which means they turn 59½ this month and can start withdrawing money from retirement accounts without penalty.
The big picture: 49% of Gen Xers in a 2023 Natixis survey said they worry that retirement may not be an option — up significantly from 42% in 2021.
While savers in general became more confident about retirement after the bull market of 2023, Gen X saw the smallest increase in confidence.
Part of that is the steady decline of pensions.
Stunning stat: Fully 50% say their main retirement planning mechanism is to avoid thinking about it altogether.
By the numbers: In a new BlackRock survey shared exclusively with Axios, only 40% of Gen Xers said they use a financial adviser for retirement planning, compared to 54% for millennials and boomers and even 47% for Gen Z.
An Allianz survey shows 35% of Gen Xers have a financial professional, compared to 46% of millennials and 54% of boomers.
The bottom line: "When you get to a certain age, you become much more focused on retirement, and how many more years you can work, and how many more years you want to work," BlackRock retirement expert Anne Ackerley said.
Gen X, it seems, is reaching that age right around now.
