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Repaying the Piper
What Should You Do with Your Broke Boomer Parents?
Recessions drained the financial resources of Baby Boomers
It is a harsh reality that some Baby Boomers require support from their children as they age. They do not have the resources to live decently for the rest of their lives once they stop working.
“Fewer than half of working-age Americans have any retirement savings, according to Census data for 2020. Savings rates rise with age, but only to a point. In the 55- to 64-year-old boomer age group, 58 percent of Americans own retirement accounts.”
Sudden Realization of Financial Danger
As time passes, my spouse and I are increasingly concerned about our fellow Baby Boomers. We are blessed. We do not require financial assistance from our two grown children. They are busy helping their struggling Millennial children.
One couple we know is selling their home and moving in with their children. Their retirement savings have been consumed at a pace they did not expect. In a couple of years, they will not have their life savings to cover the expenses their monthly fixed income does not.
Their fixed income alone will not be enough to keep them afloat. They realized last year they needed to change their planning. They are acting now because the housing market could experience an unanticipated downturn.
With the sale of their home, they will replenish their cash savings. That’s good, but now they require different living accommodations. Living with their children will allow them to aid their children and grandchildren.
The second couple’s direction was set when they realized the same thing. Their assets would run out before their lives would. At one point, they were ready to enter a managed care facility. The one they considered required them to liquidate all their assets and sign the cash over to the care facility. For that cash, they would be cared for the rest of their lives.
If a person passes away on the day they check into the care facility, no refund is given to the person’s family. That money is gone. The care facility fulfilled the…
