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Most working adults feel behind when it comes to their retirement savings<\/a>.<\/p>\n But when broken down by generation, Gen Xers are the least financially prepared generation for retirement by nearly every measure, according to a new research paper<\/a> by Alliance\u2019s Retirement Income Institute.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile Baby Boomers dominate the headlines, Generation X faces an even greater retirement crisis,\u201d the authors wrote.<\/p>\n The so-called \u201csandwich generation\u201d\u00a0is the most likely to be supporting both children and aging parents at the same time, the paper found.\u00a0They\u2019ve experienced eight recessions over their lifetimes and witnessed soaring education<\/a>, health care<\/a> and housing<\/a> costs. Many must now contend with large mortgage and car payments, along with student loan debt, while also balancing greater family responsibilities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve held the traditional family values of our parents, but it has maybe robbed us of starting to save for retirement earlier than we might have,\u201d said Ryan Sheffer, a financial adviser at Advance Capital Management<\/a> in Southfield, Michigan, which is ranked No. 72 on this year\u2019s CNBC Financial Advisor 100 <\/a>list.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThere are some macro challenges and, of course, the micro challenges,\u201d said Jason Fichtner, the Retirement Income Institute\u2019s executive director and co-author of the report.<\/p>\n Gen X is the age group \u2014 roughly defined as those born between 1965 and 1980 \u2014 heavily impacted by the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution pensions, as workplace pensions became less common. Only 14% of Gen X workers have a traditional pension compared to 56% of Boomers, according to the Retirement Income Institute.<\/p>\n These days, a successful retirement strategy entails \u201crethinking the three-legged stool of retirement planning,\u201d Fichtner said, which traditionally included employer pensions, Social Security and personal savings. \u201cNow that pension plan is your 401(k) and that has to generate additional protective income,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nRethinking the \u2018three-legged stool\u2019<\/h2>\n