Older adult children coming home again
This new article points to the rising number of adult “children” in their 40s and 50s moving back home when life throws them a challenge.
Kim Foss Erickson, a financial planner in Roseville, California, north of Sacramento, said she has never seen older children, even those in their 50s, depending so much on their parents as in the last six months.
“This is not like, ‘OK, my son just graduated from college and needs to move back in’ type of thing,” she said. “These are 40- and 50-year-old children of my clients that they’re helping out.”
Parents “jeopardize their financial freedom by continuing to subsidize their children,” said Karin Maloney Stifler, a financial planner in Hudson, Ohio, and a board member of the Financial Planning Association. “We have a hard time saying no as a culture to our children, and they keep asking for more.”
80,000 3-generation homes in the UK
Over 80,000 household in the UK now have 3 generations living in them, with the middle generation supporting both their parents and their children (including adult children), according to insurance provider Prudential.
Other interesting facts from their recent survey:
- 18% of respondents said they had adult children living at home
- 74% of parents surveyed are worried their children will live with them into their adulthood because they will be unable to afford to buy homes
- 15% of respondents have adult children or elderly relatives living nearby that they regularly look after and do chores for
Tax break for adult children at home?
UK parents with adult children living at home may be able to get a break on council tax if the adult child is on income support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or if they’re a student.
Make yourself and your adult children happier by redefining your relationship
When parents and children live through tough times together, a bond forms that can make it difficult for either the parent or the adult child to deal with the idea of living apart from one another. This phenomenon is called “enmeshment.”
But in the end, adult children must eventually strike out on their own and build independent lives.
U.K. newspaper columnist Dr. Cecilia d’Felice gives some advice to families in this challenging situation in her column this week.