Inside Look: How Gen X is Redefining Retirement

Gen X is driving a major shift in how people approach retirement planning, blending pragmatism, flexibility, and a desire for greater clarity. Since the 1980s, when defined-benefit retirement plans such as pensions gave way to defined-contribution retirement programs – like IRAs,401(k)s and 403(b)s – employees have become responsible for their own savings and investing. The tools available to support that process have also evolved, forcing this generation to adapt to changing resources and investment options. Due to this changing environment, Gen X became do-it-yourself (DIY) financial planners by necessity. In many cases, their pragmatic and adaptable outlook has served them well as they built their wealth.

Now, as retirement shifts from distant goal to approaching reality, new strategies are needed to support their desired lifestyle through multi-decade retirement while maintaining the ability to leave a legacy. Financial advisors (FAs) can play an influential role in helping Gen X successfully make the transition into and through retirement. Strategies that help create lifetime income and preserve an inheritance for their families will be critical.

Gen X, however, is not likely to reach out to financial advisors proactively. Nearly 8 in 10 (77%) see value in a financial advisor’s recommendations - still only 43% have actually worked with an advisor to create a personal plan. To help them succeed, FAs will need to meet Gen X where they are.

A recent study by WSJ Intelligence and Equitable sought to better understand the challenges and priorities of Gen X as retirement planning comes into focus and they enter their next life and wealth stage.

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Here are eight essential insights every financial advisor needs to know about serving Gen X clients.

1. Help Gen X Build on Their Success

Most Gen Xers have developed financial skills while actively earning, saving and investing. Now it’s time to help them evolve further. Converting a portfolio into income that lasts a lifetime while preserving assets for loved ones deserves personalized strategies. Advisors who acknowledge Gen X’s accomplishments and demonstrate how professional guidance optimizes what they’ve built will position themselves as essential professionals for this next phase. This validation-first approach can open doors to deeper relationships and expand their practice with clients who have substantial assets and decades of financial runway ahead.

2. Remember What Shaped Gen X as Investors

Gen X represents the test case for modern retirement. This group has adapted through market movements, economic turmoil and fundamental changes to the retirement system itself. The skills that helped them accumulate wealth—disciplined saving, smart asset allocation, riding out volatility—are different from what they will need in retirement, where the focus shifts to generating reliable income, protecting against running out of money and preserving what they’ve built. Advisors who understand this generation’s hard-won experience and meet them where they are can demonstrate how specialized guidance addresses the complexities of this new phase to support and help them.

3. Engage in Order to Plan

Financial professionals have a real opportunity to earn trust and demonstrate value. The real-world choices made by Gen Xers reveal a promising openness to guidance and experience.  More than 7 in 10 agree it’s critical to use financial advisors to inform investment decisions. Yet only about 2 in 5 have actually worked with an advisor to create a financial plan. As the reality of retirement goals becomes more evident, advisors can play a key role in managing the increasing complexity of investors’ plans. Advisors can help transform a self-created plan—or build a new one from scratch—that addresses comprehensive needs, including tax efficient investing, healthcare costs, Social Security timing, personalized income strategies and legacy goals. Helping Gen X understand how an advisor can help their specific situation could be the key to making their behavior more closely match their beliefs.

4. Mitigate Risk Perspectives

Gen Xers’ investing experience has led them to take a relatively conservative posture with their accumulated wealth. While understandable, that reluctance to position assets more aggressively creates its own set of challenges as retirement comes into view. The biggest risk isn’t market volatility anymore—it’s running out of money. Advisors can help Gen X reframe how they think about risk, showing them how to allocate their portfolio across different objectives. Those who lead with empathy and help Gen Xers create income for essential expenses, position other growth-oriented assets for long-term needs and preserve wealth for their heirs can better position their practices for potential growth. 

5. Bridge the Income Gap

Confidence in Social Security is declining with each successive generation. At the same time, Gen X and Millennial pre-retirees rarely expect to wait until they reach full retirement age to start claiming benefits. With traditional pensions nearly extinct, investors need to fund retirement income from their portfolios. This creates a significant opportunity: Introducing plans that provide income streams can fill the void left by disappearing pensions and uncertain Social Security benefits. FAs who proactively discuss ways to address this gap with concrete solutions can differentiate themselves and capture assets that might otherwise remain in self-directed accounts.

6. Address Gen X’s Dual Priorities

This group has to balance two competing priorities as they near retirement: lifespan and legacy. Funding a retirement itself could span 20 or 30 years. Beyond retirement, three-quarters of Gen X are also looking to pass on wealth to the next generation. Achieving both goals requires them to evolve beyond the accumulation strategies that got them here. The solution lies in a split approach—establishing a foundation of income to cover essential expenses and lifestyle needs, while keeping the remainder of their overall portfolio positioned for growth to combat inflation and build legacy wealth. Financial Advisors who introduce income solutions as part of a comprehensive strategy can help Gen X reduce overall anxiety, making them more comfortable maintaining growth-oriented investments in other parts of their portfolio. 

7. Lean Into Legacy Planning

Gen X wants to leave a legacy. This creates a powerful financial services opportunity: helping clients see how the savings they’ve amassed can produce enough income to support their retirement and pass wealth to the next generation. Advisors who bring multigenerational thinking to financial planning can tap into a deeply held Gen X value and create opportunities for family-wide financial relationships that extend beyond a single client. 

8. Build Relationships Through Personalized Planning

Gen X values FAs who take the time to uncover what - and who - matters most to them. That means FAs who understand their priorities and help them align their investment decisions with their long-term needs. This generation is resilient and self-reliant, but it stands at a crossroads where specialized guidance becomes essential. FA’s can earn this group’s trust by validating their experience to date and offering comprehensive plans that manage competing priorities they will encounter while preparing for - and living through - retirement. The advisors who succeed with Gen X won’t be those who promise to fix what’s broken, but rather those who demonstrate how professional guidance elevates what’s already working—turning good outcomes into great ones. This approach not only wins clients but also creates advocates who can refer similar investors to your practice.

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