Moms giving financial advice but lagging in retirement preparedness

It would appear to be yet another case of the shoemaker’s children going barefoot. Sort of.

Results of the “Mom: CFP” survey from Varo Money, Inc. indicate that Mom is the “go-to financial advisor” for lots of Americans—even though she could be the one in the family most likely to end up eating cat food in retirement.

If that’s not irony enough, the study also finds that lots of folks rely on their parents for financial support well into adulthood. (So maybe that could have a lot to do with Mom running out of funds in retirement, too.)

According to the study, while 60 percent of American adults have a “money mentor” of some kind, the person they most often turn to in that position isn’t a financial planner or other financial professional: it’s Mom.

Americans will ask their mothers (23 percent) for advice on money before they’ll ask a professional financial advisor (13 percent) or even Dad (19 percent). Millennials are even more likely to turn to Mom, at 35 percent, as are women, at 28 percent.

Many Americans will also consult their significant other for financial advice (23 percent).

And while 74 percent say their parents are good at managing money, there’s only so far that money will go—particularly when 48 percent of millennials and 29 percent of GenXers may have left the nest, but not the bank account; that’s how many are still getting financial help from their parents.

So women not only labor against headwinds of lower salaries, time out of the workplace for caregiving, a gender pay gap and the prospect of a longer life in retirement with higher medical bills, they also have to cope with not just dispensing financial advice but also financially helping to support adult children.

And that support extends to lots of areas. First, there are loans: 60 percent of millennials and 35 percent of GenXers have borrowed money from their parents sometime in the past year; 16 percent of millennials borrow money from their parents on a monthly basis; and another 16 percent borrow money on a weekly or daily basis.

Then there are bills. Not only do 46 percent of millennials and 24 percent of GenXers say their parents still pay their phone bill, both groups also get financial help with utilities (27 percent), major purchases (26 percent), car payments (24 percent), mortgage or rent (17 percent) and even childcare (16 percent).

And that doesn’t count another 1 in 5 millennials who get financial help with student loans.