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42% of U.S. adults rely on parents for financial support, study says
Northwestern Mutual says reliance is highest among Gen Zers at 72%, and experts argue support works best when it reduces stress or helps specific long-term goals.
A Northwestern Mutual study found that 42% of U.S. adults say they rely on the previous generation for financial support, including 72% of Gen Zers, more than half of millennials, and one-third of Generation X, CNBC Markets reports.
Financial therapist Megan McCoy, a Kansas State University professor, said the narrative around adult children getting help often frames someone as a “bad guy,” but she views intergenerational support as a developing pattern between both parties.
McCoy added that effective assistance requires ongoing communication and should function as “scaffolding” for an adult child, with a goal of alleviating financial stress or helping them move closer to longer-term targets.
She also urged parents who plan to transfer wealth to consider doing it sooner, arguing that waiting for an inheritance can mean the child receives help at a point when they are already more financially stable, rather than when support is most needed.