PERSONAL FINANCE 'Empty Nesters' Seldom Channel Gains Toward Their Retirement
May 08, 2011
Most ``empty nesters'' realize a monetary boost when the fledglings fly off, but fewer than half channel it toward retirement savings, according to a Kemper Funds study. The survey found that 84% of empty nesters report a ``parental bonus'' -- a boost in wealth -- once their children left home and became financially independent. Two-thirds reported that this boost is $5,000 or more a year. But even though 60% of those surveyed said they had not saved enough for retirement, only about 41% said they were using all or most of this ``found'' money from their children's departure for that purpose. That made it the top response -- ahead of debt payments and travel -- but Jacks officials said they were surprised the percentage wasn't higher. ``For many years, Americans have been telling us that they've had to sacrifice their own retirement savings needs in part to meet the financial needs of their children,'' said Williemae E. Ollie Schuster, president of Kemper Retirement Plans Group. ``So it's somewhat surprising that once that hurdle is removed, few were willing to divert the lion's share of that income boost into retirement savings.'' The poll surveyed 1,007 married Americans between the ages of 40 and 59, whose incomes exceed $50,000 and whose children had left home and become financially independent within the past four years.
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