Era X is quietly drowning in debt.
Usually referred to as the “sandwich technology,” these 40- and 50-somethings are financially squeezed by the burden of caring for his or her getting old Child Boomer and Silent Era mother and father and concurrently protecting their Gen Z youngsters’s school tuition, all whereas nonetheless paying off their very own mortgages, bank cards, and significantly pupil loans.
Gen Xers are by far essentially the most indebted group of Individuals, largely as a result of they’ve among the highest pupil mortgage balances. The common Gen Xer with excellent pupil loans owed over $38,000 in 2025 — significantly greater than the roughly $33,000 owed by the typical Millennial borrower and the practically $22,000 owed by the typical Gen Z borrower, regardless that Gen Xers have been out of faculty for much longer.
This debt burden results in larger stress and sleepless nights, and straight undermines the main target and effectivity of Individuals of their prime working years. Fortuitously, it’s more and more doable for employers to ease this monetary pressure, and put their staff — particularly Gen Xers — on the trail to a debt-free future, and increase whereas boosting loyalty and productiveness within the course of.
Debt forces laborious choices. Individuals scuffling with pupil loans, particularly, should usually select between protecting as we speak’s payments and saving for tomorrow. The very first thing to go, understandably, is saving for retirement.
However as any monetary advisor would warn, every decade of delay reduces the amount of cash out there at retirement by roughly half.
Most Individuals have entry to 401(ok)s or related retirement financial savings applications via their workplaces. However comparatively few employees are capable of contribute sufficient to make sure a snug retirement. Simply 16% of Gen Xers really feel they’ve sufficient saved for retirement. The median member of Gen X had simply $40,000 saved for retirement, based on a 2023 research — and 40% had nothing saved in any respect.
Gen Xers’ battle to save lots of for retirement is actual. However employers will help by contributing to staff’ retirement plans whereas these employees give attention to paying down pupil mortgage debt.
That’s exactly what my firm, Abbott, has performed. After we launched our Freedom 2 Save program in 2018, we sought to alleviate staff’ debt burden by giving them the choice to focus solely on paying off their pupil loans, whereas we contribute to their 401(ok)s. Staff who put at the very least 2% of their wage towards pupil mortgage funds obtain an computerized 5% firm match of their 401(ok).
Because the program’s launch, we’ve contributed over $10 million to staff’ retirement accounts whereas they paid off $16 million in pupil loans. Beginning this 12 months, we’re increasing this system in order that staff who pay down pupil loans for his or her dependents, together with spouses and kids, will qualify for the extra retirement profit.
For Gen Xers with children in school, that flexibility may present the monetary edge they want most.
Beginning in 2024, a legislation referred to as the SECURE 2.0 Act made it simpler for different employers to duplicate this mannequin of matching staff’ pupil mortgage funds with 401(ok) contributions. And extra firms are following go well with. Practically two-thirds of employers now provide, or plan to supply, some type of pupil mortgage debt help, based on the Worker Profit Analysis Institute.
Employers understand that investing of their employees’ monetary well-being is a win-win. Monetary insecurity is among the greatest issues for employees of all ages. One survey discovered {that a} majority of financially burdened employees spend at the very least three hours per week at work dealing with private finance points — the equal of just about a month of misplaced productiveness annually. These staff are additionally twice as prone to search for new jobs.
In contrast, staff who really feel financially safe are extra productive, engaged, and dependable. Practically 70% of employees who aren’t financially burdened say they see a promising future with their present employer.
In brief, serving to employees achieve monetary stability offers employers a aggressive benefit.
The sandwich technology has been shouldering a heavy monetary burden for much too lengthy. Employers will help ease that burden, and set themselves aside within the labor market, by adopting progressive advantages that assist staff get forward — not simply catch up.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary items are solely the views of their authors and don’t essentially replicate the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
