Retirement Study Shows Parents, Adult Kids Not Talking

When it comes to the topic of retirement, aging parents and their adult children too often have a failure to communicate. 'Most parents are probably better off than they let their kids understand and they don't want to share their 'balance sheet' with their adult children,' said John Sweeney, executive vice president at Fidelity Investments. According to Fidelity Investments latest Family & Finance Study, 40 percent of families disagree on the roles children will play as their parents age, in terms of who will be their caregiver, who will be executor of the estate and who will manage the finances. Some of the problem may stem from the fact that families often don't realize the importance of talking these topics through. The survey revealed that 38 percent of parents and 43 percent of adult children who have yet to discuss retirement plans say it's because the subject never comes up.