Three reasons Generation X thinks reality -2-

Since many in Gen X have a decade or more before reaching their mid-60s, Pinsky said, they have "plenty of time to modify saving and spending habits."

A fuzzy view of their future retirements

None of the Gen X members I spoke with have made concrete plans for how they'll retire, although the idea of unretirement - working part-time in retirement - intrigues them.

Pierson hopes to retire at 58, but his Magic 8 Ball is cloudy about what that might look like for him.

"I want the freedom to do what I want and travel, and I think there's going to be some element of wanting to do something on a part-time basis," he said. "Maybe volunteering as a park ranger or at the library. Or getting paid at the library. I'm not really sure."

Savarese chimed in: "Do I want to work until the day I die? No." But she said she can't imagine not working at all, either.

"I think I would need some purpose, whether it's serving on a board or volunteering or part-time work," Savarese said. "I love to bake when I'm not working. So we joke around with the kids that we're going to open up a bakery when I retire - a summer-only kind of bakery down the shore, open May through August. And then the rest of the year, I'll be retired."

Keith said she works 80 hours a week and hopes at some point to cut that oppressive schedule in half and to be able to take vacations. But she doesn't anticipate ever being able to retire.

"I guess my goal for 65 isn't necessarily to be not working anymore, but to at least be at a point where I don't burst out laughing when somebody asks me about my financial situation," she said. "Achievable goals."

-Richard Eisenberg

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04-20-24 1052ET

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