Transamerica Institute's 26th Annual Retirement Survey landed last week, and the Generation X chapter reads less like a savings report than a bet on biology. More than one in three Gen X workers (36%) expect to retire at age 70 or older or don't plan to retire at all, and 53% plan to keep working in retirement. Median household retirement savings for the generation: $113,000.
The survey, fielded by The Harris Poll among 6,153 workers at for-profit companies from September 16 to October 17, 2025, carries a margin of error of ±1.8 percentage points. Gen X is now the oldest cohort to have spent an entire career inside the 401(k) era — the youngest are in their mid-40s, the oldest in their early 60s.
The income stack Gen X is counting on
Asked to name their expected primary source of retirement income, Gen X workers answered:
- 38% — 401(k), 403(b), and IRAs
- 27% — Social Security
- 11% — other savings and investments
- 11% — income from continued work
- 5% — a company-funded pension plan
Self-funded savings therefore carry 49% of the generation, versus 42% for Baby Boomers, who are twice as likely (42%) to lean on Social Security first. That shift is the defined-benefit-to-defined-contribution transition showing up in a single survey question. Only 5% of Gen X expects a pension to do the heavy lifting — and 77% say they're concerned Social Security won't be there when they're ready to retire.
Why "work longer" is the fragile part
Gen X is not disengaged. 83% are saving in a workplace plan and/or outside it, the median start age was 30, and plan participants contribute a median of 10% of income. But confidence is thin: just 18% are very confident they'll fully retire comfortably, and only 25% strongly agree they're building a large enough nest egg. Seventeen percent have already taken a hardship or early withdrawal.
Transamerica's own framing is blunt — Gen X's success "depends on how well they can maintain their health and employability." Across all generations, 44% of workers worry AI and robotics will make their skills unnecessary. And among workers planning to retire after 65 or work in retirement, 79% cite financial reasons while 78% cite healthy-aging reasons — meaning the plan is roughly half necessity.
Practical takeaways
Model the forced-exit version. Run your numbers assuming retirement at 62, not 70. If the plan only works at 70, you don't have a plan — you have a hope with a health contingency attached.
Use the catch-up windows deliberately. For 2026 the 401(k) deferral limit is $24,500, plus an $8,000 catch-up at 50+ — and a larger $11,250 catch-up for ages 60 through 63, lifting the ceiling to $35,750. IRAs allow $7,500 plus a $1,100 catch-up.
Stop the leakage first. A hardship withdrawal at 50 costs far more than the balance removed. Build a cash buffer outside the plan so the 401(k) isn't the emergency fund.
Delay beats deposits late in the game. Claiming Social Security at 70 instead of a full retirement age of 67 adds 8% per year in delayed retirement credits — an inflation-adjusted raise no portfolio guarantees.
Sources: Transamerica Institute, "Stressed and Strained: Four Generations Strive for Retirement Security," 26th Annual Retirement Survey; Transamerica Institute press release, October 28, 2026; IRS 2026 contribution limit news release; InvestmentNews, October 2026.