By Lola Augustine Brown
If you aren’t planning to leave your kids a nice nest egg for them to retire on, or won’t be able to, you might want to let them know while they still have time to get their finances in order. Almost half of Canadians say they are counting on an inheritance for retirement, according to research by recently released financial advisory company Natixis Global Asset Management.
The firm’s eighth annual survey of investors around the world polled 8,300 people in 26 countries—300 were Canadian investors.
Overall, 49 per cent of those polled said they are relying on inherited money to supplement their own savings and government pensions to see them through retirement, and 40 per cent expect their own children to help them out. Among Millennials (defined by the survey as those aged 21–36), 60 per cent are hoping for an inheritance and 51 per cent for help from their kids. Perhaps having sneaked a peek at their children’s bankbooks, only 32 per cent of baby boomers expect the kids to lend a hand.
When you look at other studies that sound the alarm regarding how much people have for their own retirements, and how the housing bubble and other factors are eating away at retirement funds, obvious problems arise. Mommy and daddy (or grandma and grandpa) may not have enough money left over to bankroll anyone else’s retirement—51 per cent of those who said they wouldn’t be leaving anything to anyone said it was because they didn’t expect to have anything left to pass along.
Photo: iStock/Squaredpixels.
