Generation X is on course to retire with significantly less financial security than their parents, new research from PensionBee has found.
According to the firm’s 2025 Pension Landscape report, savers over 50 hold pension pots far smaller than required to maintain living standards in later life.
Women in this age group have an average pension of just £30,644, while men hold £54,512.
PensionBee’s Retirement Confidence Index ranks Gen X as the least prepared for retirement across all age groups, raising fears they could become the first generation to fare worse than their predecessors.
Analysts point to a lifetime of economic turbulence as a key factor.
Many Gen X workers entered the labour market during downturns, faced years of stagnant wages, and endured successive shocks from the dot-com bust and global financial crisis to the Covid-19 pandemic – each disrupting savings plans during their peak earning years.
The pressures are compounded by family responsibilities.
Large numbers belong to the “Sandwich Generation,” simultaneously caring for ageing parents while supporting dependent or returning adult children.
University costs, long-term care bills and ongoing mortgage payments have pushed pensions down the priority list.
While some have built property wealth, PensionBee warns that this will not fully offset weak pension savings, leaving a growing retirement income gap.
Maike Currie, VP of personal dinance at PensionBee, said: “Generation X has been squeezed from every angle, sandwiched between caring for ageing parents and supporting children, all while weathering repeated economic shocks.
“It’s little wonder that pensions have slipped down their priority list. But the reality is that this generation is heading towards retirement with far less financial security than their parents enjoyed.
“Unless we act now, Gen X could become the first generation to retire worse off than the one before. That should be a wake-up call for policymakers and the industry to provide the tools, support and flexibility this overlooked generation urgently needs.”
