Pity the poor millennials. Laden with student debt, unable to find jobs — or to find enough of them to make ends meet, many have been reduced to returning home to their parents’ (formerly) empty nests, there to try to figure out a new strategy on how to make their way in the world. But now they have another burden: guilt — for messing up their parents’ retirement plans.
What’s that again? Yes, many millennials — although certainly not only millennials — are getting financial support of one kind or another from mom and dad, despite the fact that mom and dad should presumably be salting away any spare cash they find against their future retirement.
How widespread is it? A new LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute study found that six out of every 10 American parents are providing financial support to their adult children, regardless of its effect on their retirement plans.
“Research shows that millennials have weathered the most significant repercussions from the recent economic downturn. While millennials are the most educated generation in history, nearly four in 10 are unemployed and many more are underemployed,” said Deb Dupont, associate managing director, LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute, in a statement.
“Parents of millennials, even those over the age of 22, are providing considerable support to their children at a time in their lives when saving for retirement should be a priority.”
What kind of support? Parents are paying for everything from cell phones/mobile service bills, rent/mortgage and college expense/loans debt to entertainment — movies, sporting events, etc. Only 37 percent of U.S. households indicated in the study that they aren’t providing any financial support.
It’s not just money the kids are getting. Seven out of every 10 households with adult children say that one or more of them are (back) living at home. Almost three quarters of U.S. households with adult children between the ages of 18–22 have at least one of those adult children living at home.
“Only 45 percent of parents who have financially supported their adult children in the past year say it has negatively impacted their retirement savings,” Dupont said. “We believe people are likely to underestimate the collective impact of incremental costs. Prior LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute research found that more than 50 percent of preretirees have less than $100,000 in financial assets. Even $100,000 in total savings will not be enough money to fund the 20 to 30 years these individuals are likely to face in retirement.”
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