74% of surveyed adult children of baby boomer parents — themselves a part of Generation X — would prefer their parents retire and age in their own homes, according to data from a survey conducted by industry-leading reverse mortgage lender American Advisors Group (AAG).
The data, from AAG’s previously-conducted “Adult Children Survey,” reveal that Gen X adult children may not be able to care for their parents in later life in the numbers that may be required, either emotionally or financially due to the ongoing issues stemming from issues including retirement security, the pandemic and economic volatility caused by inflation.
“The retirement savings crisis is real, and many Gen X adult children are telling us that caring for their parents will be extremely difficult and potentially unattainable,” said AAG VP of Brand Strategy Eddie Herda in an accompanying statement. “There is interest in finding financial solutions to help fund their parents’ later years and our data show that the majority are now in favor of utilizing their parents’ home equity.”
Among the data points shared, roughly three-in-four of Gen X respondents (74%) indicated they wished for their parents to age in place in their own homes as opposed to moving into some kind of assisted living facility environment.
As previously indicated, well over half (55%) of all Gen X respondents said that they are not financially able to provide assistance for their aging parents should the need arise, a figure which emphasizes the economic standing of the cohort in comparison to their parents’ generation.
However, a newly-released data point indicates that nearly half of Gen X respondents (44%) report that they are not prepared emotionally to care for their parents during their aging years. Additionally, data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that the pool of professional caregivers for older adults — which was already challenged before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — has only gotten worse in the years following, according to recent reporting from the Washington Post.
2021 AARP data also reinforces the desire for people at or over the age of 50 have to age in place, according to its own survey results.
In the AAG survey, 76% of respondents reported never having discussed the possibility of using home equity to help fund these aging in place goals.
Read the full results of the survey at AAG.
