“Generation Anxiety” research by Just Group has examined the financial pressures on those born between 1965 and 1980.
The Generation X cohort are currently aged between 43 and 58. Of this group a third (35%) are confident they will be able to retire by current state pension age (67). Nearly four in 10 (38%) believe they will have to work later, and the remaining quarter (27%) are unsure.
Official figures show retirement ages have been rising for the past 25 years with the average age of leaving the labour market 65.3 for men, and 64 for women in 2023.
Just Group’s research suggests the rise could accelerate for the Gen X cohort who will start to become eligible for pensions in about a decade.
Women were more pessimistic about their chances of being able to retire by age 67 than men (31% v 39%). Among the younger third of the cohort (currently aged 43 to 48) only 27% believe they will be able to retire by 67 with 46% believing they will have to carry on working for longer.
Among homeowners, 40% think they will be able to retire by state pension age compared to 21% of renters.
Gen X ‘risk falling into a pension gap’
Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just Group, said: “Generation Anxiety is a term we’ve coined to capture the significant financial, personal and lifestyle pressures facing this cohort aged in their 40s and 50s as the reality of retirement looms large.
“This is the age group most at risk of falling into a pensions gap. Few will be able to rely on defined benefit pensions which provide more generous, guaranteed payments to many of the ‘baby boom’ generation that preceded them, while automatic enrolment into workplace pensions started too late to make much of a difference. State pension age has also been pushed back through their working lives.
“Many will face pressures providing support for other family members such as ageing parents or helping adult children who are struggling financially. With this combination of demands on their purse, it is little surprise that so many of Gen X are expecting to have to keep working later in life.”
Related: State pension to rise by up to £900 as pay races ahead of inflation.
