The real estate collapse has been a hot-button issue for some of Tempalli's clients. "Even though most of them have prepared for their retirement, the housing crisis has also affected them," he explains. "In some cases, our clients have loaned their children the down payment on a house, but the value of that house is now under water, and their children are no longer able to pay back the loan. For those with more means, this is not an issue, but for some clients who were depending upon repayment as part of their retirement finances, this is an unpleasant surprise."
And there is no getting around the fact that there often are strong generational differences in attitudes toward money. The baby boomers, Generation X and Generation Y all grew up in different economic conditions, with different expectations. As Bixby puts it, "This is probably more the realm of psychologists, but as planners, we are many times faced with the psychology of money and family dynamics. A multigenerational household certainly has financial complexities that need to be addressed. However, most of the issues that will be faced are emotional in nature. The sense of entitlement, shame, fear, depression, dependency and other negative emotions must be dealt with in order to approach fiscal health as a family unit."