Study: Parents Skimp on Retirement to Support Adult Children

A recent Bankrate.com survey of 2,553 adults estimated that at least half of parents said they have had to dip into their retirement savings to support their adult children financially, reports USA Today . Seventeen percent of respondents said these costs reduced their savings by "a lot," and 34 percent said they gave up their financial future "somewhat." The study's authors blame helicopter parenting and costly, prolonged education for this trend. Most respondents agreed that children should start paying their own bills at age 18, while children 18 or 19 should be paying for their car and insurance, cellphone bills, subscription services, travel costs, and credit card bills. Meanwhile, adult children had differing opinions about how their parents should be supporting them, with millennials thinking this support should extend to student loans and health insurance. Although a majority of baby boomers are willing to cover health insurance until ages 23 to 38, they felt millennials should rely on themselves to pay for travel, car payments, and housing costs. Households with incomes of $50,000 to more than $80,000 put the average age their adult children should start paying off their student loan debt on their own at 23, while those with household incomes of less than $30,000 listed the average age at 24.