Adult children of baby boomers are taking longer to become financially self-sufficient, which is hampering the ability of boomers to save for retirement, a new poll from Investors Group finds.

Investors Group’s Boomers on Call survey, which polled 500 Canadians aged 43 to 63, reveals that six-in-10 boomer parents provide financial support averaging $3,675 per year to their adult children.

One-in-10 boomers with children say they also provide some type of support to their aging parents, and 42% say they experience stress as a result of these combined responsibilities.

As a result of financially supporting both their parents and their children, four-in-10 say they’ve been forced to reduce the amount they’re investing for retirement and one-quarter say they have adopted a less comfortable lifestyle. One-quarter expressed concern that this financial assistance will jeopardize their retirement security.

In addition, due to the time spent helping both parents and children, one-third of these “sandwich” boomers say they’ve postponed or cancelled travel plans, and a third say they’re unable to focus on their own hobbies and interests.

“With children taking longer to become self-sufficient, and aging parents expected to live longer, boomers are headed for the perfect generational storm,” said Jane Olshewski, manager, Financial Life Planning Investors Group. “Boomers could face a cash crunch as they prepare for retirement.”

Olshewski says boomers should calculate how much assistance they can afford to provide, and how much they need to take care of themselves.

The survey shows that while boomers have a positive attitude about caring for their parents, they are less thrilled about giving money to their adult children. One quarter of the “paying parents” said they were bothered by the need to provide financial assistance.

The most common form of financial support is for post-secondary education. Nearly half of boomer parents indicate that they are currently contributing to their child education or have already done so. A further 21% expect to make this expenditure. Interestingly, six-in-10 boomer parents say that their own parents did not offer this type of assistance.

Two-in-10 boomer parents have a child aged 19 or over living at home. Of this group, 58% say that their adult child makes no financial contribution to the household.

Seven-in-10 boomer parents have children aged 19 and over living away from home. These parents travel 190 km per month, on average, to provide some type of assistance to their children. This assistance includes a wide variety of chores such as babysitting grandchildren, helping with major financial decisions, doing car repairs and performing home maintenance and repairs.

More than half of boomer parents say they expect their children to be financially self-sufficient by age 25. In contrast, most parents say they themselves became financially self-supporting before age 21.

IE