Baby Boomers Supporting Both Older Children and Elderly Parents

According to a press release, Nielson labels these Boomers, who give ongoing financial support to elderly or retired parents or an adult child 18 years or older, as Pivot Spenders.

In fact, the survey found that almost 40% of this group paid out $1,000 or more per year to help their elderly parents, while 56% contributed at least that amount to supplement an adult child as they established an independent life outside the family home.

Top needs for both older parents and adult children were groceries and housing. Some of the other areas where senior parents were likely to receive financial assistance included medical care (22% ), clothing (21% ) and car expenses (18% ), and for adult children, financial aid needs included car expenses (46% ), clothing (41% ) and medical care (37% ).

“ In addition to buying for their live-in family, many Boomers are shopping for multiple households including their aging parents and empty nest children,” said Todd Hale, senior vice president of Nielsen Homescan & Spectra, in the news release. “Boomers are proving to be both the social and financial epicenter of the family unit.”