Dad-of-two Peter Ng is currently helping to support his parents and said it’s meant he has had to think about his retirement plans. · Source: Supplied
Millions of Australian Millennials are about to face what has been dubbed the “generational squeeze”. That’s when they are caught supporting two groups of financial dependents in retirement: their kids and their aging parents.
Melbourne dad-of-two Peter Ng is currently facing this predicament. The 40-year-old e-commerce worker told Yahoo Finance he and his two siblings had been helping financially support their parents, Angel, 68, and KK, 70, since they retired.
“We’re all helping in different ways. We all try to help out with running costs, whether it’s medical costs, car servicing, meals, groceries, we all try and chip in,” he said.
“That’s something that’s ongoing but the financial support they require might be more as they age and there might be more health concerns.”
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Ng said he currently contributed a few hundred dollars each month. His parents are currently living with his sister and helping take care of her kids.
They receive the age pension but Ng noted this alone was “not enough”.
Ng noted that in many Asian cultures, adult children often cared for and supported their parents financially.
“It reminds me of a Ronny Chieng joke, ‘When you love something, you give it money’,” he said.
“Asians, we tend to give money to our family and our parents. With some of my Asian friends, their way of support is just paying for everything, meals, groceries and driving them around.”
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Ng with this two kids, Daniel and Nathen. · Source: Supplied
Ng and his wife also have two young boys, Daniel, 11, and Nathen, 9, to provide for.
General living costs are the biggest expenses for them, along with extracurricular activities and any school camps or excursions.
Ng said supporting both his parents and kids meant he had to be more mindful of his budget, with mortgage repayments, groceries and household bills among their top expenses.
“Sometimes we will have to be mindful not to eat out too much, or be mindful of not buying large items, or too many trips. We have to make sure we are thinking about the future,” he said.
But he said he felt “lucky” to have siblings who were supportive and could help share the load.
“It could be a bit daunting if it was just one of us,” he said.
Exclusive new research from financial advisory firm Findex found there was a growing trend of Aussies experiencing or set to experience the “generational squeeze” in retirement, with Millennials the most “vulnerable” group.
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