44 Of The Most Interesting Facts About Generation X

Generation X, or the post boomers, were born between 1965 and 1981. They are 45 million of them and they are typically forgotten by the media, despite their rising power in the workplace. Currently, more Gen X’ers are raising children, don’t believe they will be retiring when their parents did, and are looking for a flexible work environment. They are home owners, make many of their purchases online and are saving for their retirement. Here is my full list by category:

Facts About Generations Series

51 Of The Most Interesting Facts About Generation Z.
74 Of The Most Interesting Facts About Millennials.
44 Of The Most Interesting Facts About Generation X.
53 Of The Most Interesting Facts About Baby Boomers.

Gen X and the economy

• 36% of Gen X think it’s likely they will need to dip into their retirement savings to pay for non-retirement expenses. [PwC]
• 30% of Gen X admit having already withdrawn money held in their retirement plans for expenses other than retirement. [PwC]
• 65% of Gen Xers are currently working full-time.  [Met Life]
• They believe nearly 50% of their retirement income will come from pensions, 401(k)s and other retirement plans, with only one-third from Social Security and 21% from savings and investments. [Met Life]
• 70% are not confident in the ability of Social Security to provide them with full benefits. [Met Life]
• 44% say they are not confident about having enough money for retirement, which is greater than Gen Y and boomers. [Pew Research]
• Two-thirds reported being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their lives. [Shullman Pulse]
• 74% say they were negatively affected by the Great Recession and 57% are still recovering from it. [Transamerica]
• 35% expect their standard of living to decrease when they retire. [Transamerica]
• 54% plan to work past age 65 or do not plan to retire. [Transamerica]

Gen X values

• Gen Xers say the defining characteristics of their generation are hard working (8%) and lazy (5%). [Met Life]
• 12% say Gen X is unique because of their technology use, followed by work ethic (11%) and how conservative they are (7%). [Pew Research]
• 50%  of Gen Xers say providing for their children’s college costs is a major goal. [Shullman Pulse]

Gen X’s as employees

• Gen X respondents ranked workplace flexibility as the most important perk (21%) and are more likely to walk away from their current job if flexibility isn’t available. [EY]
• 40% are working in the career they intended when they entered the workforce. [Met Life]
• Almost a quarter have been with the same employer for fifteen years or longer. [Met Life]
• 74% of Gen Xers agreed with the statement “hard work is the key to getting ahead.” [Reader’s Digest]
• 70% prefer to work independently. [CTI]
• 66% of Gen X women and, significantly, 55% of Gen X men want flexible work arrangements. [CTI]

Gen X’s as entrepreneurs

• 41% of Gen Xers consider themselves entrepreneurs. [Millennial Branding / Monster]
• 40% of Gen Xers identify themselves as being “high risk”. [Millennial Branding / Monster]
• 40% of Gen X men and 25% of Gen X women reported that they want to eventually become entrepreneurs. [Center For Work Life Policy]
• 37% had an early entrepreneur role model in their family. [Womenable]
• 39% of Gen X men and 28% of Gen X women aspire to be an entrepreneur. [CTI]

Gen X’s as consumers

• 82% are home owners and their homes have an average value of $238,000. [Met Life]
• 74% use the Internet for banking, 72% use it to research products or companies, and 81% have made purchases online. [Forrester Research]
• Items that they buy most online are books (38%), clothing and accessories (33%), event tickets (26%), and videos and DVDs (20%). [Forrester Research]
• 62% read newspapers, 48% listen to radio and read magazines, and 45% regularly consume TV programming online. [Forrester Research]
• 95% have a page on Facebook, 35% have LinkedIn profiles, and 25% regularly post to Twitter. [Forrester Research]
• 70% of report that brand loyalty was the highest in Gen X consumers. [eMarketer]
• 85% who use the Web still prefer to watch their favorite shows on TV. [eMarketer]

Gen X’s as investors

• 29% of estimated net worth dollars and 31% of total income dollars. [Shullman Pulse]
• 60% of GEn X is either not very knowledgeable or not at all knowledgeable about investments and financial products. [LIMRA
• 46% contribute regularly to a retirement savings plan. [Hearts & Wallets]
• 50% have little or no credit card debt and 42% have some savings in case they lose their jobs. [Hearts & Wallets]
• 45% generally spend less than they make. [Hearts & Wallets]
• 55% own a home. [Hearts & Wallets]
• 56% have their insurance needs covered. [Hearts & Wallets]
• 48% have a retirement savings plan and regularly contribute. [Hearts & Wallets]
• 49% of Gen X households own a mutual fund. [ICI]
• 76% report proactively planning for their retirement. [Ameriprise]
• Anticipate relying on their 401(k) accounts (42%) or IRAs (29%) as their main sources of income during retirement, while pensions (14%) and Social Security (5%) are expected to take a back seat as primary sources of retirement funding. [Ameriprise]
• 57% trust their financial advisor is working in their best interest. [Cogent]
• 46% delegate most investment decision-making to their financial advisor. [Cogent]

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