Will you end up supporting your parents?

Some aging boomers simply didn't plan well enough; others got smacked by the market meltdown. Now Mom and Dad are sleeping in the guest room, and members of a younger generation are wondering just how much they should be meddling in their parents' finances.

By Emma Johnson, MSN Money
March 11, 2009
After she graduated from college and started earning a salary, Jesson Burnam took an interest in personal finance and planning for her retirement.

Burnam soon realized how little she knew about financial planning. And if she didn't know much, what did her parents know?

"I asked my parents what they were doing to plan for their retirement, and the scary answer was 'not much,'" says Burnam, a 29-year-old marketing executive in Washington Crossing, Pa. Her father is a church musician; her mother is a customer-service representative. "My first reaction was: 'Are you kidding me?' I was resentful. I want to be able enjoy to my money. It is tough to realize you have to support someone later on, but you don't want to be selfish."

The problem facing Burnam and her family is a common one -- and one that may be hitting home now as the economy alters almost everyone's financial picture. According to Boston College researchers, 40 per cent of baby boomers are at risk of not being able to afford their current lifestyles in retirement. Perhaps more worrisome, a 2006 survey of 2,500 boomers found that 59 per cent of the respondents had done no formal retirement planning.

* Follow us on Twitter

When's the right time to have the conversation?
Many boomers assumed they had a few years to catch up. But the financial crisis and economic upheaval have pushed many parents into their children's laps.

Just ask Anna Hartman. She and her husband -- both 31 -- recently moved her 67-year-old father from his home in the Washington, D.C., area to their 1,000-square-foot house in Oakland, Calif. Hartman's father had recently started a vitamin-supplement business, but it went bust last fall, largely due to the economy.

Altogether has Commentaries Makes the commentary

  User name : Password :

  code : Anonymously