We've heard about the baby boomers, golden eggs,
the final salary pensions and the houses bought
for the price of a ham butty. And we've heard
about millennials and their side hustles and
their avocad toe struggles. But if you, like
me, born between 1965 and 1980, 1969 for me,
welcome to the void. You are part of the invisible.
generation you grew up as the latchkey kids letting
yourself into empty houses with a key around
your neck and a microwave dinner if you're lucky
you survived the 2008 crash right as your careers
were supposed to be peaking and now in 2026 the
government is looking at you and saying actually
could you just could you just keep going until
you 67, maybe 68, maybe just work until you're
a ghost. But today, we aren't just talking about
a SIP or an ISO, we're talking about the Gen
X identity crisis. How do you go from being that
do -it -all generation, the one that holds the
office, the home, the economy together, or someone
who actually stops? So let's talk about the rebellion.
And one of the biggest psychological hurdles
for Gen X right now isn't our own retirement.
It's the fact that everyone else is literally
sitting on our wallets. Now, we're the sandwich
generation and the bread's getting a bit stale.
29 % of you are still financially supporting
adult children. And these are children who can't
get on the property ladder. You're paying for
their first -time buyer deposits while also paying
care home fees for your parents. Now, we've all
seen the videos about finding your why. But for
Gen X, your why has been taking care of everyone
else for 30 years. You don't know who you are
without a dependent. And we tire him. in 2026
requires a radical psychological shift you have
to move from provider to self -preserver now
listen if you don't set boundaries with your
family now your retirement fund won't be your
freedom it'll become the bank of mom and dad
until the vault is empty and you're 80 years
old eating beans on toast It's okay to say no
so that you can say yes to your own life. But
let's be real. We, Gen X, were cynical. But we've
earned it. We've entered the workforce with the
promise of a final salary, a defined benefit
scheme pension. Then, in the early 2000s, we
watched these vanish like a puff of smoke. And
these were replaced then by... Defying contribution
schemes where all the risk sat with us. We were
too old to fully benefit from auto -enrollment.
That's what the 20 -somethings have now. And
they've got 40 years of compounding ahead of
them. But you're also too young to get that massive
DB payout at the boomers. They're currently out
cruising the Medon. Rock and roll till I die.
Now the result of this is that 54 % of the UK
Gen X are terrified that their money's going
to run out. And this will lead to retirement
paralysis, that one more year syndrome where
you keep working because the fear of the unknown
is scarier than the soul -crushing commute. We've
been told to trust the system, but for us, It's
trust fatigue. You don't trust the state pension
will be there when you hit 67. And you don't
trust that the markets won't tank the week before
you quit. But 2026 is the year we stop being
worried and start being vocal. It's the time
to stop waiting for a rescue that isn't on its
way. Now, there's a concept starting to make
waves in 2026 called the active decade. It's
that sweet spot between 55 and 65 where your
health, your cognitive sharpness, and hopefully
a little bit of financial freedom actually overlap.
But then there's the biological reality, which
is that 34 % of us Gen Xers are already reporting
long -term health issues. our knees are clicking,
our stress levels are through the roof. Why on
earth would you trade your most active, healthy
years for 2 % higher pension payouts at 67? But
then you might be too tired to enjoy it. Now,
if I've got a tip, something that I did was to
try and avoid the hard stop. Now, we as Gen Xers
thrive on our independence. The original remote
work as before it was even cool. Work three days
a week. Go consulting. Work in a garden centre.
It solves that identity crisis of who I am if
I'm not a senior VP at the company. But it also
keeps the lights on and your brain sharp. You
know, only 6 % of us Gen Xers have a written
plan. Don't be the 94%. For three decades, your
identity has been your job title. In the UK,
when you meet someone at the pub, the first question
is usually, what do you do? Now, if you say nothing,
people look at you as if you've got two heads.
Now, we're used to being self -reliant, aren't
we? We figure it out ourselves. And because of
that, many of us think that asking for financial
advice or a retirement coach is a sign of weakness.
It's not. It's just tactical. So, as I said,
only 6 % of Gen X have a written retirement plan.
Now, writing it down isn't just about maths.
It's about a psychological contract with yourself.
It's your permission to slip rather than stopping.
If it's on paper, it's real. If it's just a feeling
in your head, it's just anxiety. You've been
the forgotten generation for long enough now.
You've been the bridge between the analogue and
the digital. the workforce and the home, the
past and the future. 2026 is the year that you
take back your own time. The time is not the
end. It's the first time in your life that you
don't have a boss breathing down your neck. You've
spent 40 years doing what you had to do. Now
it's time to start doing what you want to do.
The rebellion starts when you decide that enough
is actually a number, not a feeling.