Gen X: Time Is on Your Side When It Comes to Saving for Retirement
Generation X has been called America's neglected middle child. For starters, this demographic group, sandwiched between the baby boomers and the millennials, was born in a relatively short 15-year span--between 1965 and 1980. And there are fewer of them--66 million in the U.S., compared with 74 million baby boomers and 71 million millennials. Plus, they're the victims of rotten timing. Just as they were approaching their prime, enjoying homeownership and revving up retirement savings, the housing bubble burst, igniting the financial crisis and the Great Recession. That decimated their portfolios and slashed the value of their homes.
On the plus side, their home values and savings have mostly recovered since the financial downturn, and they are entering their peak earning years. "They still have time to change their long-term outcomes, but they can't afford to proÂcrastinate," says Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
That's easier said than done. Many are also supporting children at the same time their aging parents are beginning to need help, and that makes it even more difficult to save. Sarita Gupta's daughter was 2 years old when her father, a retired physician, was diagnosed
