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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

While Generation Z complain about increasing rent prices and millennials worry over childcare costs, it is the so-called forgotten generation that have arguably been plunged into the most difficult financial position.

Generation X — typically those born between 1965 and 1980 — are dealing with a flurry of financial worries, as they juggle handling pension savings, supporting family members and paying off increasing debts.

Craig Rickman, pensions expert at Interactive Investor, said: “Gen X’s finances are being squeezed by the perfect storm of rising education fees, spiky utility bills and higher mortgage costs.

“Many may struggle to find surplus savings and/or income right now to beef up their retirement savings to the required level,” he added.

Only 28 per cent of Gen X are on track to meet their retirement savings goal, which could be due to the phasing out of defined benefit schemes as they entered the job market, according to research from Annuity Ready.

“An interesting trend that may impact Gen X’s financial security in retirement is the gradual demise of the defined benefit pension schemes in the private sector,” said Rickman.

These “gold plated” defined benefit pensions allow employees to receive a guaranteed inflation-proofed income for life, based on salary and years of service.

In contrast, a defined contribution scheme is not guaranteed for life, where the employee builds up a pot of money through a workplace or personal pension scheme, which is subject to the value of investment returns.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Life Survey for 2024 found 65 per cent of adults who were either receiving an income or had taken a cash sum from a pension had accessed a defined benefit scheme.

However, only a third of workers aged 45-54 — Gen X — were in a defined benefit scheme compared with nearly two-thirds in defined contribution schemes.

“That’s a stark shift and means a smaller proportion of Gen X compared to Baby Boomers [who] can effectively sleepwalk to retirement knowing that a guaranteed, life-long income awaits them,” said Rickman.

In addition, many in Gen-X have been squeezed by having to support their children and parents at the same time, turning them into the “sandwich generation” as they become not only “the bank of mum and dad” but also “the bank of son and daughter”, according to data from wealth management firm Saltus.

Parents are assisting their children in getting on to the property ladder, purchasing their first car and dealing with rising university fees, while also supporting the older generation with day-to-day living costs, including utility bills, medical care and shopping, Saltus said.

For those providing financial support to elderly relatives with more complex needs, the cost of both residential homes and nursing homes have risen to a weekly average of £1,400 and £1,500 respectively, based on data from care home finder Lottie.

And it is not just Millennials and Gen Z who are feeling the pressure of soaring house prices. With wages failing to keep in line with the rising cost of homes, Gen X has been forced to borrow more, says Rickman.

While this was more manageable during times of low interest rates, as they have increased along with repayments, disposable income and savings have taken a hit.

However, it is not too late for the forgotten generation to prepare for retirement, if they create a clear plan of how to save.

Claire Exley, head of advice and guidance at online wealth management company Nutmeg, says despite the negatives of defined contribution pensions, auto enrolment in schemes offers flexibility and “comes with more choice” over investments and additional contributions.

“Financial planning and advice is key,” Exley concludes.

A roundup of the most newsworthy financial press releases from PR Newswire this week, including GoDaddy’s Most Entrepreneurial Cities of 2025 and new AI agents from Workday.

NEW YORK, May 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help finance journalists and consumers stay on top of the week’s most newsworthy and popular releases, here’s a recap of some major stories from the week that shouldn’t be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

1. WesBanco, Inc. Expands Regional Presence with Conversion of Premier Financial Corp.
   Marking the largest conversion in the bank’s history, WesBanco, Inc. announced the successful customer transition of approximately 400,000 consumer and 50,000 business relationships, along with the branding and operations of approximately 70 financial centers, from Premier Financial Corp. to WesBanco.
2. The Most Entrepreneurial Cities of 2025 Prove Size Doesn’t Matter
   New GoDaddy data reveals unexpected hotspots fueling the United States’ entrepreneurial spirit, revealing that both small and large cities are driving innovation.
3. Finastra to Sell Treasury and Capital Markets Division to Apax Funds
   Upon completion of the transaction, Finastra’s Treasury and Capital Markets (TCM) business will be rebranded and operated as a standalone business. With a client base of over 340 financial institutions, TCM is a trusted enabler of risk management, regulatory compliance, and capital markets operations.
4. Workday Unveils Next Generation of Illuminate Agents to Transform HR and Finance Operations
   “The key to unlocking real business value with AI is to actively reshape the very core of how businesses operate,” said Gerrit Kazmaier, president, product and technology, Workday. “Workday is helping our 11,000+ customers in that transformation by leveraging our deep HR and finance expertise to deliver agents that provide measurable business value and empower them to thrive in the future of work.”
5. Record-Breaking World Liberty Financial USD1 Stablecoin Unlocks Cross-Chain Capabilities With Chainlink
   Backed by short-term U.S. government treasuries, U.S. dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents, the USD1 stablecoin has skyrocketed in record time to eclipse $2 billion in market capitalization.
6. Deloitte: Americans Plan to Travel More This Summer, but Trips May be Less Extensive
   According to Deloitte’s 2025 Summer Travel Survey, more than half (53%) of Americans surveyed plan to travel and stay in paid lodging this summer, up from 48% last year. Many are making it work by taking more frequent, but shorter, trips. Americans continue to prioritize leisure travel, despite economic headwinds that may send summer travel plans in a new direction.
7. Caregivers Face Lasting Financial, Emotional and Career Impacts, Edward Jones Study Finds
   Two in five U.S. adults identify as family caregivers, but there is a lack of support for caregivers nationwide, according to new research from Edward Jones in partnership with Morning Consult and Age Wave. Top financial concerns caregivers face include rising costs and inflation (56%) and inadequate retirement savings (42%).
8. PNC Bank Agrees to Acquire Aqueduct Capital Group to Complement Harris Williams Capabilities
   “This acquisition is complementary to existing capital advisory capabilities provided through PNC’s subsidiary Harris Williams and will enable us to expand our ability to serve the global capital needs of the private equity industry,” said Michael D. Thomas, head of Corporate & Institutional Banking at PNC.
9. Fisher Investments Launches Fiduciary.com™: A New Resource to Help Investors Better Understand the Wealth Management Industry
   Fiduciary.com provides investors with straightforward education about what a fiduciary is and isn’t, competing standards of care in the industry, and what to look for when hiring a wealth manager.
10. GM enhances loyalty program and unveils new GM Rewards™ Mastercard® from Barclays
    The revamped loyalty program is simpler, and the new card provides customers more ways to earn and redeem GM Rewards points across GM brands for new vehicles, services, parts and accessories.
11. Southwest Gas Holdings Announces Launch of Secondary Public Offering of Centuri Holdings, Inc. Common Stock
    Southwest Gas Holdings, as the selling stockholder, is offering 9,000,000 existing shares of Centuri’s common stock. Southwest Gas Holdings expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,350,000 shares of Centuri’s common stock.
12. Introducing CHASM: A Solution to Close the Gender Gap – Powered by the World’s Most Successful Men & Women
    Powered by an invite-only membership, CHASM is a club of the most successful men and women in the world (each contributing $25,000 annually) that transforms their capital into change by helping women founders thrive. “With CHASM, we’re tackling the gender gap in an innovative way — by not isolating men, but by inviting them in. If 99.9% of the power, money, and influence still sits with men, they need to be part of the solution,” says CHASM founder Daniella Pierson.
13. Papaya Global Launches the First Enterprise Platform for Managing and Paying Global Contingent Workers
    Papaya’s new platform – Contingent OS – is the first enterprise-grade solution built to unify the full external workforce lifecycle. It connects the dots between vendor management systems (VMS), payroll compliance, invoice verification, and instant global payments – enabling true end-to-end orchestration for contingent workforce programs at scale.
14. Synchrony Partners with the Independent Animal Hospital Association (IAHA) to offer CareCredit, Spotlighting Commitment to the Nation’s Independent Veterinary Hospitals
    As the Independent Animal Hospital Association’s (IAHA) preferred financing partner, Synchrony’s CareCredit health and wellness credit card will be offered at the association’s more than 500 independent animal hospitals in more than 30 states.
15. Vanguard Releases New Book on Forces Shaping the Future Global Economy
    The new book, Coming into View, introduces a groundbreaking, quantitative method in assessing the impact of megatrends on the global economy. The book offers bold new perspectives on the effects of AI, deficits, and demographic shifts for investors, financial advisors, and business leaders.

For more news like this, check out all of the latest finance-related releases from PR Newswire.

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SOURCE PR Newswire

OLDWICK, N.J., May 22, 2025–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a+” (Excellent) of Symetra Life Insurance Company and its subsidiary, First Symetra National Life Insurance Company of New York (New York, NY), together referred to as Symetra Life Group. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “bbb+” (Good) of Symetra Life Group’s parent, Symetra Financial Corporation. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. All companies are headquartered in Bellevue, WA, unless otherwise specified.

The ratings reflect Symetra Life Group’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

AM Best views Symetra Life Group’s balance sheet as strong, as measured by quantitative and qualitative Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), measures with financial support afforded by the ultimate parent, Sumitomo Life Insurance Company. The ultimate parent continues to support the group’s strategic initiatives with capital when needed. Symetra Life Group has shown continued growth in premiums with record sales in 2023 and 2024, combined with continued increases in capital and surplus and positive net income on a GAAP and STAT basis in 2024, aided by positive net investment income.

Offsetting these strengths is Symetra Life Group’s strong top line growth, which has outpaced surplus growth in recent years, as well as the group relying more on affiliated offshore reinsurance that may need additional support if growth continues at this pace.

AM Best views Symetra Life Group’s ERM as being matched to the scope of its operation, while adjusting to changing market conditions. Continued product innovation and its favorable business profile continue to be a positive factor in its overall ratings.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250522931736/en/