The slumping economy is now forcing baby boomers to move back with their parents, resulting in financial consequences for all. Some have lost jobs. Others are suffering the consequences of overextending themselves with larger houses then they could afford, real estate investments gone bad, or just buying to much "stuff". While this is inconvenient for the "kids", it can be devastating for the parents.
According to an Associated Press article more and more "kids" are moving back home with their parents to help make ends meet.
Financial planners report receiving many calls from parents seeking advice about taking in their grown children following divorces and layoffs. Kim Foss Erickson, a financial planner in Roseville, Calif., north of Sacramento, said she has never seen older children, even those in their 50s, depending so much on their parents as in the last six months. "This is not like, 'OK, my son just graduated from college and needs to move back in' type of thing," she said. "These are 40- and 50-year-old children of my clients that they're helping out."
Parents "jeopardize their financial freedom by continuing to subsidize their children," said Karin Maloney Stifler, a financial planner in Hudson, Ohio, and a board member of the Financial Planning Association. "We have a hard time saying no as a culture to our children, and they keep asking for more."
But plenty of well-meaning parents must delay retirement or scale back their dreams because they have to help their children, Stifler said. Parents feel guilty if they don't offer help, but she warns them to be careful with their savings.
A new survey by the retiree-advocacy group AARP found that one-fourth of Generation Xers, those 28 to 39 years old, receive financial help from family and friends. The on-line survey of nearly 1,800 people ages 19 to 39 also found 57 percent believed they were "financially independent." But in a separate question, 33 percent said they received financial support from family and friends."
This combined with the inflation, decreasing home values and an unstable economy, could jeopardize the retirement of many seniors. One option that will become more and more necessary for some is to access the equity in their home through a government insured Reverse Mortgage. Used judiciously, a Reverse Mortgage can supplement the retirement income without having to eat up the principle of the retirement account.
Feel free to call if you have any questions. Larry Morris 503-421-0096.
Comments(9)