When Was The Last Time You Talked With Your Parents/Kids About Money?
It still surprises many people that the oldest millennials are in their mid-40s, but it’s true. Millennials have been rapidly moving into sandwich generation territory – where they may need to provide care for older parents and school-age children at the same time.
Caring for aging parents can be an expensive responsibility. One often overlooked cost is that adult children may have to work fewer hours or take leave from work to care for a loved one. On average, the cost of lost work time for caregivers is more than $10,000 a year, according to AARP Research. Take this brief quiz to learn more about the costs typically associated with caregiving.
1. About 48 million Americans provided unpaid care to an adult family member or a friend in 2021. In addition to the emotional costs of caregiving and lost income, most (8/10) caregivers spent a significant amount of money on caregiving costs such as home modifications, medical bills and parents’ rent or mortgage payments. On average, annual caregiving costs more than:
a. $3,000
b. $7,000
c. $9,000
d. $11,000
2. In a recent survey, 70 percent of respondents said their parents were financially prepared for the future. How many of the survey’s respondents had actually talked with their parents about whether the parents were financially prepared for the future?
a. 31 percent
b. 42 percent
c. 65 percent
d. All of them
3. Sometimes, care may be needed for a significant period of time. The average life expectancy at birth in the United States is 76.1 years, but life expectancy changes as people age. What is average life expectancy at age 70?
a. 6.5 years
b. 8.7 years
c. 12.1 years
d. 14.8 years
4. Talking about money with parents can be difficult. In a recent survey, many participants said they would rather not do it. In fact, they would rather:
a. Discuss their parents’ funeral plans than their parents’ finances.
b. Inherit less rather than deal with their parents’ finances.
c. Deal with a parent’s estate after death rather than talk about it while the parent was alive.
d. All of the above.
Whether caregiving is in your future or not, it’s important for adult children to understand their parents’ current finances and the plans they have for future. If you would like to have some help getting the ball rolling, just let us know. We can guide and facilitate these important financial conversations.
