J U LY / A U G 2 0 1 4
Should You Give Your
Adult Children Money?
Individual answers to the question
depend on specific circumstances
by Angela S. Hoover,
Staff Writer
A 2012 study by
the National Center
for Policy Analysis
found that 59 percent of Baby
Boomer parents were providing
financial support to their adult
children, including living expenses,
medical bills and loan payoffs. The
economy hasn’t improved these
past two years, which means Baby
Boomer parents are probably still
spending more than half their
resources financially assisting their
adult children. Whether parents
should give their adult children
money depends on the specific
circumstances.
There is a stark difference
between today’s work model and
the world in general for young and
middle-aged adults. Previously,
whether a young person went to
college or not, he or she started
working for a company and stayed
with it until retiring with a pension.
There were white collar and blue
collar jobs. None of this holds true
in today’s world and job market.
Nowadays there aren’t enough jobs
for eligible workers. The available
jobs are often only part time and
in the service industry. The labor
force is now a disposable commodity; it’s a “fast-food workforce.”
Even more startling is wage
stagnation. Wages have remained
flat for 30 years. Typically, the
next generation enjoyed easier
economic conditions and life
circumstances than the previous generation. It was part of the
American Dream: working to
ensure your children had a better
life than you. Generation X (those
born between 1965-1979 or 1984,
depending on source) was the first
generation that had le