The latest Allianz Life survey shows that financial services companies are thinking more about Generation X, and Gen Xers are thinking more about what financial services companies are telling them about the gap between what they might need for retirement and what they have.
Gen Xers were born from 1965 through about 1979. The oldest are turning 60 this month, and about 4.2 million will turn 60 this year.
About 81% of the Gen Xers who participated in Allianz Life's market perception survey in November agreed with the statement, "I am concerned that the rising cost of living will affect my retirement plans."
That was the most intense level of agreement that showed up in the Allianz Life consumer survey results, according to a report made available to ThinkAdvisor.
Gen Xers showed little interest in topping off their retirement savings by taking on more investment market risk: Only 30% agreed with the statement that "it is a good time to investment in the market right now." That compares with an average of 35% for all survey participants and 29% for baby boomers.
What it means: Gen Xers think they need more protection against inflation.
They don't want to get the potential for higher investment returns by accepting more investment risk.
They want financial services companies and advisors to offer index-linked annuities or other products that can somehow provide both higher returns and stability.
Generations: Baby boomers were born from 1946 through 1964; members of the millennial generation, from 1980 through 1994; and members of Generation Z, from 1995 through about 2009.
A Social Security Administration research team predicted in 2012 that about 75% of Gen Xers would emerge at age 67 without enough income from Social Security, retirement plan accounts and other sources to replace at least about 75% of their pre-retirement income.
The Allianz Life survey: About 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older participated in the latest Allianz Life consumer survey. The company fielded the survey online.
The backdrop: Response statistics for Gen Xers tend to fall between the statistics for boomers and millennials for most questions, but Gen Xers tend to be noticeably more nervous than boomers or millennials in connection with some questions about fears about inflation and investment market risk.
When Allianz Life asked about concerns about the effect of inflation on retirement plans, for example, the percentage of participants agreeing that this was a major worry was 68% for boomers, 75% for millennials and 73% for members of Generation Y — considerably lower than the 81% level for Gen Xers.
The new results echoed what Allianz Life found in the spring, when 50% of Gen Xers identified "everyday costs increasing so much that I can't afford my basic expenses" as one of the top three threats to their retirement security.
The percentage of participants expressing alarm about everyday expenses was 38% for boomers and 42% for millennials.
Gen Xers expressed more fear about retirement even though they seem comfortable about the present: About 63% said they thought the economy would improve in 2025, compared with 54% of boomers and 61% of millennials.
Credit: Lee Avison Photography/Adobe Stock
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.