Piggy bank in the middle for baby boom generation

Britain’s baby boomers are playing financial ‘piggy in the middle’, torn between supporting their adult children and elderly parents, according to new research by EngageMutual.

Despite baby boomers looking forward to retirement as the most well-off pensioners the country has ever known, the research shows that almost two in three (60%) 55 to 64 year olds are still supporting their grown up children, and one in four (25%) are contributing to the costs of their elderly parents’ retirement.

As part of its 3GB campaign, exploring the financial interdependencies between family members, Engage Mutual questioned a GB representative sample of over 2,000 adults about the financial support they provide to family members. The results reveal that 55 to 64 year olds are more likely to be supporting grown up children and elderly relatives than any other age group.

Baby Boomers Supporting their Parents

One in four (25%) Britain’s baby boomers, aged 55 to 64, have supported their parents financially in the last six months. Of these, 44% (11% of all 55 to 64 year olds with retired parents) have helped to cover the costs of their retired parents’ utility bills, 16 per cent have supplemented their parents’ income and 12 per cent have contributed towards the costs of a care home.

Children of the 70s Still Relying on Baby Boomers

Almost two in three (60%) parents aged 55 to 64 with children over the age of 25 have helped their child financially in the last 6 months. This generation are the most likely to have helped their adult kids pay off debt (26%) and cover the costs of childcare for their grandchildren (21%) in the last 6 months. One in five (19%) of 55 to 64 year olds have also helped their children cover the costs of their home, contributing towards a deposit, mortgage repayments and home improvements.

Karl Elliott, 3GB Spokesperson for Engage Mutual said: “Financial circumstances in Britain have changed considerably over the last fifty years. The baby boom generation, born at a time of post-war economic hardship, are now retiring in relative comfort. However, with continued increases in costs of living, education and care, the wealth this generation have accumulated will be stretched far further than was the case for their parents.

“With children now gaining financial independence later in life and parents living for longer, it is important that the middle generation are prepared for the eventuality that they will be supporting their family for longer than they expected. Saving little and often for the long-term can help to build up a financial cushion to these changing financial circumstances.”