The data: Many Gen Xers have waited until their later working years to prepare for retirement, according to a Harris Poll study, and they’re racing to catch up. After they realized retirement was nearing, 40% of Gen Xers said they cut back on discretionary spending.

Digging into the data: For many Gen Xers, retirement wasn’t a priority—until suddenly it was.

• Retirement is a late priority: 61% of non-retired Gen X investors said retirement didn’t feel like an urgent priority until they were at least 50 years old, and 26% overall said it didn’t feel urgent until they were 60.
• Financial behaviors change as the time approaches: After they felt that retirement was near, 40% cut discretionary spending, 34% increased retirement contributions, 23% sought professional financial advice, and 19% de-risked their investments, pointing to the demand for portfolio support.
• A minority feel adequately prepared for retirement: 19% said their savings would easily last more than 25 years—past age 90 for someone retiring at 65. But 37% said their savings were already insufficient or wouldn’t last more than 14 years.
• Costs are biting into retirement plans: A majority (89%) of Gen Xers agreed that rising living costs were making it harder to retire comfortably, and of those, 48% strongly agreed. Top obstacles include housing costs, insufficient retirement income, and unpaid debts.
• Full retirement may not be immediate: 43% of Gen Xers said that if they retired in the next 12 months, they would continue working out of necessity to supplement their income, and 26% said they would likely be forced to return to the workforce, showing the consequences of late planning.

What’s next? The story about the Great Wealth Transfer from baby boomers to their millennial and Gen Z children often leaves out Gen Xers, a sandwich generation that’s caring for elderly family members and supporting children in their teens and 20s. Banks should be preparing their advice offerings for the upcoming wave of Gen X retirements among and the financial strain many face as that transition nears, so these customers aren’t left behind.