The latchkey kids are all grown up.
The oldest members of Generation X — that generation born between 1965 and 1980 and known for its irreverence, sarcasm and indifference — are hitting 59½ and eligible to start withdrawing money from retirement accounts without penalty. But should they be touching their nest eggs so soon?
As the first do-it-yourself generation funding retirement largely without private pension plans, many members of Gen X graduated college or high school during a recession. They got their first jobs when 401(k)s were in their infancy and predated the internet with paper statements mailed weeks after a quarter ended.
The early 401(k) plans, if they were offered by employers at all, were unsophisticated and lacked tools for education. Those early plans also lacked automatic enrollment, automatic escalation of savings allocations and target-date funds — all factors making it easier to save nowadays.
Jessica Hall | Yahoo Finance