7 Reasons Gen Xers Are Not Worried About Retirement

Most boomers are already retired or making their way there. The next generation to head that way is Gen X, who range in age from 44 to 59. Gen X may have a reputation for being scrappy and independent, but its members are not especially well prepared for retirement.

According to a Prudential study , people around age 55 have only around $50,000 in retirement savings, which is far from what experts recommend they need to have saved by this age. As many as 67% of respondents also said they fear they’ll outlive their savings.

However, not every Gen Xer is worried about retirement. Tracy B., a 53-year-old licensed massage therapist based in Oregon and Cathy B., a 54-year-old academic coach based in North Carolina, are looking to their retirement with less alarm, even though it will require some significant life changes.

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Relying on Social Security

Tracy, who is a full-time massage therapist (though this doesn’t translate to 40 hours a week, she pointed out), is hoping to remain in good enough health to work another 14 years, until age 67, at which time she plans to take Social Security.

“I’m making an assumption that Social Security will still be in place and provide the majority of my retirement income,” she said.

She also has a small IRA account and additional savings, which will help, though not fully replace her income.

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Taking an Early Retirement

Cathy B., on the other hand, plans to retire in just six years, at the age of 60. In between now and then, she has some significant financial goals she hopes to achieve, including paying off debt and building up their emergency fund more robustly.

Part of what will make this possible is that her husband is almost eight years younger than her and has a well-paying, steady job.

Renting Out a Home

Tracy is also prepared to rent out a portion of her house to offset her property taxes and provide some extra income.

“My house will be completely paid off in a few years and I have no other debt,” she said. “I also have no children so my expenses have been low all along in comparison to families with kids.”

Cathy B. gets a small amount of rental income from several properties she owns, around $1,500 per month, when everyone is paying — which doesn’t always happen on time. She hopes to be able to buy an additional property in the next six years with rental potential, while she still has a job.

Relying on a Partner’s Additional Income

Tracy’s husband, a teacher, should also get a pension and Social Security, though they aren’t sure how much it will be. “Of course, this plan assumes we remain relatively healthy, which is maybe not the best thing to bet on,” she said.

Because Cathy’s husband is so much younger, he’ll continue to work regularly even after she retires, keeping a solid income stream for years after her.

Health Insurance Covered by the Military

Another way Cathy is set beyond the average person is that her husband spent twenty years in the military, which now provides them both health insurance for life (him) and her for as long as she’s married to him. Their annual rate of $450 per year is less than some people pay monthly for all their healthcare needs.

Reducing Expenses

Tracy expects to reduce her expenses by traveling more locally, tightening the household budget and eliminating a lot of non-essential expenditures.

“In the past, both my husband and I have lived off a great deal less than we do now and are totally willing to modify our lifestyle to fit a lower income. Our needs are quite basic and I’m not scared of living off less. In fact, I’m kind of looking forward to a simpler life,” she said.

Cathy also realizes she’ll have to give up some of the things that she relies upon. Right now she pays students to do many tasks such as dog walking, house cleaning and landscaping and she’s prepared that she and her husband will have to take on these tasks. It will also mean spending less money on hobbies, such as gardening, art and working on their house.

For Cathy, this is not a problem, however. “It will be worth it to me,” she said. She has few concerns, either, about growing bored or unhappy in retirement, because her hobbies will keep her busy. “I can entertain myself all day long. I don’t need to have a job to feel fulfilled because I do other things.”

Making Willing Sacrifices

The biggest sacrifice for Tracy B. and her husband in retirement will be expensive trips, she said, but they’ve already done a fair amount of travel so she doesn’t feel it will be too huge of a sacrifice. “I will have to eliminate frivolous expenditures, but I don’t see this being particularly difficult.”

Her greatest concern is staying healthy for as long as possible and trying to avoid any major medical debt.

Cathy’s biggest concern is whether she can really meet the financial goals she has set: paying off credit card debt and car loans, saving more money and possibly buying an additional rental property.

But none of those worries are worth working much longer, Cathy said.

“There’s definitely some kind of level of fear that comes with not working, but also at the same time, I really feel like life is short and I don’t know how long I’m going to live.I know people in their fifties and sixties start dying and I want to enjoy my life.”

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : 7 Reasons Gen Xers Are Not Worried About Retirement