That’s because Gen Xers are more likely to be behind in their retirement savings than millennials, the report said.
Besides problems from student loans and work woes, there’s another reason why Gen Xers are having problem, according to one advisor.
Charles Hughes, a CFP with his own firm in Bay Shore, N.Y., said many of them "are unlikely to even think about going to an advisor.”
Hughes said he has few Gen Xers as clients, but would like to talk to more people of this group and “just help them get started on basic issues, such as learning to save on a regular basis.”
Regardless of the generation, adds another advisor, some would-be clients have to understand they must aggressively save to make up for the years of not saving.
“You’re in your 40s or 50s, you have nothing, then you must tell the client that he or she must max out the retirement saving plans,” said Jeffrey Feldman, a CFP in Pittsford, New York.
“You can do more if you have a small business, but employees should contribute right to the limits of their 401 (k) plans,” he said.
Hughes said he worries that Gen Xers are virtually a lost generation because they don’t know what they don’t know.
“We change this by making young people aware of what they need to do right from the start of their adult lives. We need to have financial education as mandatory courses in high school,” he said.
The employer survey included 2,500 interviews with benefits decision makers and influencers at companies with at least two employees. The employee survey consists of 2,675 interviews with full-time employees, ages 21 and over, at companies with at least two employees. The study was conducted in October.