Many Canadian baby boomers are concerned about caring for their parents and financially assisting their adult children, which may impact their cash flow in retirement, according to a study.
The final set of results released from Scotiabank’s study, The Retirement Landscape – A Focus on the Baby Boomer, also finds that government pensions will be the top source of retirement income.
Twenty-five percent of boomers are concerned about their parents’ health and how it will impact them in retirement.
And almost half of the 41% of boomers with children currently under the age of 21 living at home expect their adult children to continue to do so past the age of 21. The study also found that 16% of boomers say helping their children financially is going to be a financial objective.
Boomers’ retirement income will come from a variety of sources with pensions (84%)—particularly government pensions (72%) and RRSPs/registered retirement income funds (77%)—as the primary sources of income, followed by savings accounts (52%).
Younger versus older
Only 40% of younger boomers (45- to 54-year-olds) feel prepared for their retirement, compared with 62% of older boomers (65- to 70-year-olds). Younger boomers (49%) are also more concerned about outliving their money in retirement than older boomers (33%).
Younger boomers are considering how their aging parents will affect their retirement. Twenty-eight percent are concerned about how their parents’ health will impact them (versus 12% of older boomers), and 45% say that preparing for their aging parents’ healthcare costs is an important financial objective in retirement (versus 17% of older boomers).
“We are seeing baby boomers, who were once known as the ‘me’ generation, transitioning into the ‘we’ generation as they move into retirement,” says Lisa Ritchie, senior vice-president of customer knowledge and insights at Scotiabank. “Unlike previous generations, boomers’ responsibilities go beyond what was traditionally expected and now include caring for aging parents and supporting adult children.”