Millenials are ruining their parents retirement plans?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thet screwed their children by taking away pensions and making it impossible to have a living wage. They are horrible people. My father makes 6 figures in retirement--way more than I have in my entire life as a working professional and my parents act like they are poor when my dh and I are working to scrape by. We don't buy anything extra aside from groceries and rent. But they seem to really be suffering as home owners their gated community and new cars.

Yup. My parents are good people who earned what they have...but my husband and I will never be able to retire at 60 with a six figure income of pension, SS, and investments. We invest what we can, but without the pension and with the likelihood of SS decreasing, we're never going to make up for the other two "legs of the stool."

So I'm not all that sympathetic.

Plus a million.

+2, similar parents. A pension, two social securities, cheap healthcare for life that I’d pay through the nose for if those plans still existed. My parents saved in the way that most responsible Dcumers do, but have SO much more than similarly responsible savers today will.

Then save more. Life lesson 1 - life is not fair but it is what it is!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If parents are making poor decisions on what to do with their funds, that's not the fault of their kids.

Agree. They can say no.

[Anonymous]

Retirement, hahahaha, sorry if millennials can't neither should the scumbag boomers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thet screwed their children by taking away pensions and making it impossible to have a living wage. They are horrible people. My father makes 6 figures in retirement--way more than I have in my entire life as a working professional and my parents act like they are poor when my dh and I are working to scrape by. We don't buy anything extra aside from groceries and rent. But they seem to really be suffering as home owners their gated community and new cars.

Yup. My parents are good people who earned what they have...but my husband and I will never be able to retire at 60 with a six figure income of pension, SS, and investments. We invest what we can, but without the pension and with the likelihood of SS decreasing, we're never going to make up for the other two "legs of the stool."

So I'm not all that sympathetic.

Plus a million.

+2, similar parents. A pension, two social securities, cheap healthcare for life that I’d pay through the nose for if those plans still existed. My parents saved in the way that most responsible Dcumers do, but have SO much more than similarly responsible savers today will.

Then save more. Life lesson 1 - life is not fair but it is what it is!

We can try, but our wages aren't necessarily high enough to make up the loss of those other retirement income sources. Math is a thing, there are real limits on savings for the 3 of us on DCUM who don't make $700k. Yes, life is not fair, and sometimes you can't just personal responsibility your way out of it (or if you think the solution is for everyone to be in the top 1% or stop complaining, uh, I would again refer you to math).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thet screwed their children by taking away pensions and making it impossible to have a living wage. They are horrible people. My father makes 6 figures in retirement--way more than I have in my entire life as a working professional and my parents act like they are poor when my dh and I are working to scrape by. We don't buy anything extra aside from groceries and rent. But they seem to really be suffering as home owners their gated community and new cars.

Yup. My parents are good people who earned what they have...but my husband and I will never be able to retire at 60 with a six figure income of pension, SS, and investments. We invest what we can, but without the pension and with the likelihood of SS decreasing, we're never going to make up for the other two "legs of the stool."

So I'm not all that sympathetic.

Plus a million.

+2, similar parents. A pension, two social securities, cheap healthcare for life that I’d pay through the nose for if those plans still existed. My parents saved in the way that most responsible Dcumers do, but have SO much more than similarly responsible savers today will.

Then save more. Life lesson 1 - life is not fair but it is what it is!

We can try, but our wages aren't necessarily high enough to make up the loss of those other retirement income sources. Math is a thing, there are real limits on savings for the 3 of us on DCUM who don't make $700k. Yes, life is not fair, and sometimes you can't just personal responsibility your way out of it (or if you think the solution is for everyone to be in the top 1% or stop complaining, uh, I would again refer you to math).

only less than 1% makes 700k or anywhere close to it. most of us, like you, struggle thru. i am sure the generations before us had to do the same and the ones after us will be the same too.

[Anonymous]

You guys still at it with the generational wars? Stop getting baited by the media.

The WORLD ECONOMY HAS CHANGED. Parenting philosophies may have changed too, but not more than hard financial facts.

[Anonymous]

I thought US is in a great economy right now?! Why all the whining then?

[Anonymous]

I only see this happen with friends whose parents are more well off than average.

Out of our group of friends, only 3 (including me) come from a poor immigrant background, and get no financial support from the parents (it's actually the other way around now). The rest still have their various bills paid for by their parents, despite having high paying jobs.

The other day my friend frantically asked me how to set up new cell service, apparently he has a fallout over his cell phone bill usage and his dad was kicking him off the family plan. Can you imagine a 28 year old man having to give his dad a satisfactory answer about his cell phone usage or risk getting it shut off?

It's definitely a shift from the old "kick 'em out at 18 and let 'em deal with it!!!" mentality. These parents helicopter their kids, then wondering why the kids are dependent on them.

[Anonymous]

Uh, did you folks miss the part where they talked about the negative effect of the 2008 financial crisis on wage growth and the high costs of higher education and housing? Kids need more help today than I did back when I was their age.

Yeah, I'm helping my kid with grad school because I don't want her to be settled with crippling student loans. She will have loans to pay back but she should be able to manage it. I can't say the same for the kid I tutored who has no family money to help her out and who probably won't be able to get a decent paying job for all the money she borrowed to get a bachelor's degree. These kids are dealing with a different economy and they need help!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You guys still at it with the generational wars? Stop getting baited by the media.

The WORLD ECONOMY HAS CHANGED. Parenting philosophies may have changed too, but not more than hard financial facts.

Thank you! Voice of sanity. These generational wars help no one.

[Anonymous]

I’m so sick of the pension argument - not all boomers have pensions - my parents don’t/never had the option, so every penny of their retirement is there through hard work, sacrifice, and planning.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 millennial adult children. They both have good jobs - one makes over $100k and is only a couple years out of college. They are still on the family cell phone plan and yes we have a multi user Netflix account still but that’s not exactly breaking the bank. Together that’s less that $100/month. They can afford to pay their own rent, have employer health coverage and pay their own living expenses. They do take advantage of our beach house but it doesn't cost me anything and I enjoy it when they come for a weekend or a week. So not all millennials are mooches.

On a related point not all boomers are bad. I don’t get a pension, already pay for my own health insurance on the private market at an exorbitant rate, and have saved like crazy for retirement (as well as for my kids education, which we paid for in full). I also lived very frugally in my 20s and 30s in a way most millennials these days wouldn’t tolerate. Our first house was what people on this board would define as a shit shack. So we made different financial choices than many people today.

[Anonymous]

I know plenty of genxers who mooch off their parents. I also know boomers who mooched off their parents (and are now in a comfortable place in retirement because of inheritances, not their own financial acumen or frugality).

Everybody on this board complains about how rich boomers are etc. I think it is because most people who frequent this board have well-off parents. A very high percentage of Boomers do not have retirement savings and the idea that all boomers have a pension to tap is also false. I think the range is like 25% of boomers have some sort of pension.

Paying for an adult child's cell phone on a family plan is not keeping people from saving for retirement. It is a lifetime of overspending.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You guys still at it with the generational wars? Stop getting baited by the media.

The WORLD ECONOMY HAS CHANGED. Parenting philosophies may have changed too, but not more than hard financial facts.

My philosophy that the Boomers are scum and should all hurry up and die has not changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 millennial adult children. They both have good jobs - one makes over $100k and is only a couple years out of college. They are still on the family cell phone plan and yes we have a multi user Netflix account still but that’s not exactly breaking the bank. Together that’s less that $100/month. They can afford to pay their own rent, have employer health coverage and pay their own living expenses. They do take advantage of our beach house but it doesn't cost me anything and I enjoy it when they come for a weekend or a week. So not all millennials are mooches.

On a related point not all boomers are bad. I don’t get a pension, already pay for my own health insurance on the private market at an exorbitant rate, and have saved like crazy for retirement (as well as for my kids education, which we paid for in full). I also lived very frugally in my 20s and 30s in a way most millennials these days wouldn’t tolerate. Our first house was what people on this board would define as a shit shack. So we made different financial choices than many people today.

Why do you write "they can afford to pay their own rent," instead of they are paying their own rent? That struck me as odd. Are you paying their rent or are the living with you?