Although many multigenerational and boomerang families enjoy having adult family members all living under the same roof, the situation can lead to financial challanges and may put the ability to save for retirement at risk, according to a study from Allianz.
The Allianz LoveFamilyMoney study found that 41 percent of multigenerational families (those with three or more generations living in the same house) and 34 percent of boomerang families (those with an adult child who left and later returned), said they “often feel financially burdened by the number of family members living in our household”.
This is compared to an average of 22 percent for other nontraditional families in the study, which includes same-sex couples, single parents, blended families and older parents (over 40) with young children.
“While these family types should be proud of the close-knit atmosphere they’ve created, they need to understand that financial challenges may result in the future,” said Katie Libbe, Allianz Life vice president of Consumer Insights.
Multigenerational respondents were significantly more likely than the total of other nontraditional counterparts to feel “a great deal/some stress” about covering current financial expenses (72 percent versus 63 percent), getting out of debt (67 percent versus 57 percent), and caring for a parent or relative financially (60 percent versus 31 percent).
More concerning, said Allianz, is that 59 percent of multigenerational respondents said they currently live paycheck to paycheck compared to 47 percent of other nontraditional families.
For boomerang parents, more have gone back to work to make ends meet than other nontraditional families combined (17 percent versus 12 percent), and more have also delayed or considered delaying retirement (16 percent versus 11 percent).
As a result, less than half of boomerang families (48 percent) said they are on track to achieve their financial goals versus 53 percent of nontraditional families combined.
“It’s wise for both multigenerational and boomerang family types to seek out financial professionals that have experience dealing with unique family structures and can provide guidance on how they can balance supporting their family while still planning for tomorrow,” added Libbe.
The Allianz LoveFamilyMoney Study was conducted by The Futures Company via an online panel in January, 2014 with more than 4,500 panel respondents ages 35-65 with a household income of at least $50,000.