A majority of millennial and Generation X children of baby boomers do not know how much their parents have in retirement savings and aren’t comfortable asking them about it, according to a survey of approximately 1,500 men and women aged 25-44 sponsored by MassMutual's AgeUp.

MassMutual found that while the majority of millennials and Gen-Xers believed they would provide financial support for their parents in their old age, they didn’t want to ask them about it before then, nor were they considering how that financial obligation would factor into their own financial planning.

The survey sought to assess whether adult children were comfortable talking with loved ones about their retirement savings, and whether they expected to provide financial support for their parents once they reached their 90s.

A majority of respondents (80%) agreed that parents and in-laws should be taken into account when thinking about their own long-term financial plans, but just two-thirds (68%) thought they would provide financial contributions should their parents outlive their retirement savings.

Another two-thirds of respondents (67%) said they anticipated that they would be making the majority of their parents’ financial decisions if they reached their 90s. However, less than half of the respondents (47%) said that it is either “very important” or “extremely important” to talk to their parents about their retirement savings.

Just one-third (37%) have already taken their parents and in-laws into account in making their own long-term financial plans, MassMutual noted. Next to sex, respondents said, talking about their parents’ personal finances was one of the “most awkward” discussions they could have with them, and 71% said they knew “little” or “nothing” about their parents’ finances.

Respondents were just as reluctant to discuss their own finances with their parents. Over half of participants (56%) said they either “never” speak with their parents about their own financial plans for retirement, or speak about it “rarely” (once a year).

MassMutual said that the survey’s findings corroborate research asserting that the country is facing a looming financial crisis resulting from more retirees outliving their retirement savings than in generations past.

In January 2020, AgeUp, a deferred annuity from MassMutual, sponsored an online survey of approximately 1,500 men and women between the ages of 25-44 throughout the U.S.