Tri-Generational Settings

Senior Moments ought to be for seniors although these moments wander all over the landscape. This one however does concern seniors emanating from a senior to seniors and future seniors. Two articles in Bloomberg Businessweek in early March, 2015 caught my eye plus an Ally Bank ad said If I Want to Gamble With My Retirement Money I'll Go to Vegas. A few pages later Blomberg said it's Time to be Selfish.

Considering the huge debts students are accumulating doesn't always say who will pay those debts but undoubtedly many parents do pitch in. This first article talked about Millennials who live at home, often for free enjoying meals as well as lodging. Then it quoted a study that 1-3 U.S households provide financial assistance to adult children but that only 1-5 do so for elderly parents.

This hinted it could put a real dent in retirement savings for seniors expected to live into their 80s and 90s. Another study revealed that 1,000 respondents between the ages of 18-34 revealed that some of those earning more than $75,000 a year had parental help in paying for groceries and clothes. Further, the median balance of couples 55-64 had only an average of $111,000 in 401(k) and IRA plans.

Combined with other statistics, maybe Blomberg Mag was obligated to suggest that some parents are risking their retirement to subsidize their kids and that 31% of middle-age Americans are supporting an adult child: 41% transportation costs, 28% medical expenses, 24% student loan debt, 13% rent and 59% other bills. Seniors, take note.

Although it does have implications to the above, the next article was about real estate: a Resident Developer battle over shuttered golf courses. From 2006-2013, 643 golf courses were shuttered even though an earlier boom saw 3,000 courses built in the U.S. from 1990-2003. Middle aged seniors we'll call them were great supporters of golf courses as well as victims of the wretchedness climaxing in 2007 which led to financial miseries including IRAs . . .

What could be done with a vacant course? How would those who lived on or near these shuttered playgrounds react? Waivers and rumors rumbled freely. Shrinking their size, redevelopment and letting weeds take over were all tried. Meanwhile, time is ticking for both indebted students and shrinking IRAs as parents and seniors alike take notice (or should be). Life can get complicated, can't it?