And you thought millennials and boomers were the ones with big money problems.

Actually, those most likely to need the help of advisors are Generation Xers—those born between 1965 and 1980, according to a new survey.

Indeed, these middle-aged men and women tend to lag younger millennials and older boomers in achieving key financial goals, according to MetLife’s 17th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study. “This generation [is] in the danger zone when it comes to preparing for the unexpected and planning for the future,” the study said.

Among the three generations, Gen Xers are the least likely to have a savings cushion amounting to three months' salary, according to the survey report. About 53 percent have sufficient savings, and under half report living paycheck to paychek.

“We know this demographic is having problems,” said Michael Chasnoff, a CFP and founder of TruePointWealth in Cincinnati. “And we also know that a lot of them have problems with student loans.”

Why is this generation of would-be advisory clients having such problems?

The survey found that many Gen Xers are alienated at work and worried that they will never make enough to save and retire in comfort.

Given their financial pressures, the report said, “it's not a surprise the study revealed Gen X as the least happy generation of employees at work—just 68 percent of Gen X workers report being happy at work, compared with 75 percent of millennials and 74 percent of boomers."

Contributing to Gen X unhappiness is that “only 54 percent of Gen X workers feel empowered at work and 62 percent feel respected in the workplace,” the report said.

Generation Xers need advisory service because they “are the most likely generation to say they will never retire and may remain in the workforce for the next 30 or more years. Nearly one in five (18 percent) Gen X employees do not plan to ever retire, compared to 14 percent of millennials and 12 percent of boomers,” the report said.

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.