5 Critical Retirement Tips for Gen-Xers

Gen X is often considered the overlooked generation, but we're looking right at YOU today.

Gen X is people born between 1965 and 1980, so this is a group that should be starting to think about retirement. But will they be ready?

As the Baby Boomer generation aged, they figured they'd need just under a million – $990,000 to retire. Gen X? Different story. According to the results of a January survey by Northwestern Mutual, the average amount that people across this age group said they would need to retire comfortably is closer to $1.5 million.

Yet, the average Gen X household has only $40,000 in retirement savings, compared to the Baby Boomers' average of $70,000.

This week, friend of the show Pam Krueger from Wealthramp joins us to talk about what you can do if you're worried about hitting your retirement mark.

You can download the episode wherever you get your podcasts:

• Listen on Apple Podcasts
• Listen on YouTube Music (formerly Google Podcasts)
• Listen on Spotify

Don't forget to check out our podcast page for more episodes designed to help you make the most of your money.

Gex X is stressed about retirement

Miranda and Aaron are Gen X, but they're not super-stressed about retirement. At least not yet. They're a little ahead of the curve in terms of average net worth by generation, but that has more to do with their career path than anything else. However, if you're Gen X and worried about retirement, you're not alone.

Gen X is feeling the pinch of being the sandwich generation, and we discuss that reality with our guest, Pam. With all the family financial pressures, it's no surprise that Gen X is feeling concerned.

The good news is that there's still time to catch up and make a plan for a better financial future, and we talk about it in this episode.

Steps for securing your Gen X retirement

Pam takes us through some of the most important steps you can take to make retirement a reality, even if you feel like you've fallen behind. Some of the things you can do right now include:

• Use a deep dive into your finances to figure out where you're at and create a plan for your money.
• Identify your magic number for retirement, including the calculations you need to determine it.
• Contribute to tax-advantaged retirement accounts (including the Roth IRA) and make catch-up contributions if eligible.

Check out our podcast episode on turbocharging your retirement savings for more information on getting more bang for your future buck.

Meet this week's guest, Pam Krueger

Pam Krueger is a recognized investor advocate and award-winning personal finance journalist and author. She is the founder and CEO of Wealthramp, an advisor matching platform that connects consumers with rigorously vetted and qualified fee-only financial advisors. It is the only advisor referral service that gives people full control over when and how they talk to their referred advisors.

Her perspectives on personal finance regularly appear in Marketwatch, Forbes, PBS Next Avenue, and she is a frequent speaker on fiduciary financial advice. In addition, Pam is an active volunteer member of the Retirement Income Committee at the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the retirement security of America's workers. She has also served on the California Jump$tart Coalition, an organization dedicated to increasing financial literacy among children and teens, where she created one of their most successful curricula available for K-12 teachers called, Investing Pays Off For Kids.

Each year, she spends part of her time in San Francisco, California and lives in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

• Wealthramp
• Podcast: MoneyTrack
• Podcast: Friends Talk Money
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Don't listen to podcasts?

A podcast is basically a radio show you can listen to anywhere and anytime, either by downloading it to your smartphone, or by listening online. They're awesome for learning stuff and being entertained when you're in the car, doing chores, jogging or riding your bicycle.

You can listen to our latest podcasts here or download them to your phone from any number of places, including Apple, Spotify, RadioPublic, Stitcher and RSS.

If you haven't listened to our podcast yet, give it a try, then subscribe. You'll be glad you did!

About the hosts

Stacy Johnson founded Money Talks News in 1991. He's a CPA, and he has also earned licenses in stocks, commodities, options principal, mutual funds, life insurance, securities supervisor and real estate.

Miranda Marquit, MBA, is a financial expert, writer and speaker. She's been covering personal finance and investing topics for almost 20 years. When not writing and podcasting, she enjoys travel, reading and the outdoors.

Become a member: https://www.moneytalksnews.com/members/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.