Family Financial Obligation

“Americans have a strong desire to help their families
financially, but their generosity is not unbounded,” said
Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife
Mature Market Institute. “While the research shows
money provided to help with specific financial issues is
a reflection of love and caring, not a familial mandate or
obligation, parents and children are not prepared to give
in all instances.
“Even though financial support can be critical in keeping
family members afloat, perhaps a better way to enhance
strong familial ties is by planning ahead and having
discussions early on about financial goals, estate issues
and purposeful gifts – such as college funding. Families
might also consider professional guidance so they can
be assured that they are investing well and are protecting
their family members financially, should unanticipated
emergencies or premature death occur.”
Here are additional findings:
• Boomer parents (75%) are more likely to have provided
financial assistance with items other than education or
a house, compared to 40% of Gen X parents with adult
children. Fifty-seven percent of Gen Yers have received
such support from parents or grandparents, compared to
36% of Boomers.
• Only 35% of Boomers say they received support for
college tuition from their parents, but all three of the
generations studied believe it is their obligation to do so
for their children.
• More than four in 10 respondents (44%) say they would
feel a strong or absolute responsibility to help an adult
child with a financial setback not of their own making. Only
11% feel obligated to help when the situation results from
poor spending habits.
• When asked when their financial responsibility to their
children ends, parents generally say it’s when the children
are finished with college and that if kids don’t attend
college after high school, they should be working.
• Seven in 10 Boomers (70%) say enjoying retirement
takes precedence over leaving an inheritance; just 64% of
Gen Xers and 57% of Gen Yers agree.


From a MetLife Survey
Source: http://insurancenewsnet.com/