Some Adults Have an Extra Retirement to Pay for: Their Parents’
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A growing number of Americans are finding themselves financially unprepared for retirement — and in many cases, it's their adult children who will become the fallback plan.
Shrinking Social Security benefits, disappearing pensions, longer lifespans and macroeconomic factors have created a brew of uncertainty for today’s retirees and pre-retirees. Almost half of households nearing retirement say they don't have enough to retire securely as of 2022, according to research from consulting firm McKinsey.
By 2040, Americans’ increasingly meager retirement savings could cost every state and the federal government more than $1.3 trillion, Pew Charitable Trusts found, threatening a taxpayer liability of $13,600 per household.
That’s where people like Mario Robles II, 24, come in handy. A first-generation Cuban American who saw his single mom struggle when she lost their house in the 2008 financial crisis, he says he knew around age 10 that he would have to help with his mother’s expenses when she retires.
“I was like, ‘You're obviously doing a lot to raise me. I'll do what I can to help you in your old age,' ” Robles tells Money.
As his mother, a 60-year-old dentist, approaches retirement age, Robles has set himself up to keep his word. The young engineer secured a middle-income salary straight out of college and now shares a home with his mom to help consolidate their cost of living. He turned personal finance into a hobby in subreddits like r/FIRE — an online discussion forum for followers of the financial independence, retire early movement — and devoured investing guides like JL Collins’ The Simple Path to Wealth.
