If you have children or grandchildren in their 40s and early 50s, here is something worth knowing. A big chunk of that generation is not heading into retirement anywhere near when they planned.
A newly released PwC survey, the Employee Financial Wellness Survey, found that nearly 50 percent of Gen X workers are pushing back their retirement dates. The reasons cited are familiar ones: wages that are not keeping up, everyday costs that keep climbing, and not enough money set aside in savings.
The Numbers Tell a Difficult Story
Only 38 percent of Gen Xers believe they will be able to retire when they originally planned. More than half expect to dip into their retirement accounts early just to cover short-term expenses.
PwC researchers put it plainly: 49 percent of workers say their pay is not keeping up with costs. As a result, difficult financial trade-offs have become routine rather than the exception.
25% of the surveyed workforce has no financial cushion at all. And nearly half say they struggle to meet basic household expenses each month.
A Ripple Effect Across the Workplace
When workers cannot afford to retire, something else happens, too. The corporate ladder slows down. PwC notes that companies incur higher costs when experienced older employees remain on the payroll longer than expected.
It also affects workforce planning, healthcare costs, and the timing of promotions and succession, all the way down the line.
On top of that, 41 percent of workers surveyed said they were never given the tools to manage a financial situation this complicated. The word PwC uses is “overwhelmed.”
What PwC Says Should Change
The survey’s researchers did not just identify the problem. They offered some direction for both workers and employers.
Their call to action focuses on a few practical ideas: reduce the stigma around talking about money, bring in human financial coaches people can actually trust, build real money-management skills, and focus first on day-to-day finances before tackling long-term goals.
As PwC put it, workers define financial wellness simply as less stress, fewer surprises, and the freedom to make choices with confidence.
For those of us who worked hard to build a retirement, it is a good reminder that getting there is rarely just about willpower. Having the right information and support matters just as much.