Generation X's Last, Best Hope for Retirement

Generation X's Last, Best Hope for Retirement

By Chuck Saletta June 17, 2008
If older Americans are in trouble when it comes to their retirement planning, Generation X is in big trouble, because:

Pensions have become things of the past.
The Social Security system is failing.
Debt, debt, and more debt.
We Gen Xers are staring into a financial future bleaker than anything our baby boomer parents imagined.

From bad to worse
USA Today published an article that painted a grim future for the generation born between 1965 and 1980. The employer and social safety nets are gone. Life expectancies are on the rise -- so retirement will last longer. That might sound great, but with insufficient retirement funds, those years won't be so golden after all.

While time is less of an ally now, this problem can be solved...For instance, assume you can get an 8% annual return on your investments. Depending on how much you've got socked away, here's how much you'd have to invest every month to retire with that $1,000,000: (see table via link)

Unless you're a leading-edge Generation Xer who's already got a decent nest egg -- and statistics show that there aren't many in that camp -- this may well be your last realistic chance to retire comfortably at a reasonable age....