The principle reason why the younger generation finds itself gobbling up the capital of their parents is straightforward enough: decades of falling interest rates have made it progressively more difficult to accumulate risk-free retirement savings for retirement or asset purchases. On the flip side, the same falling rates lead to rising asset prices, putting things like home ownership out of reach for many.

The Keynesians won’t be satisfied until the savings of every last one of us is drawn down to zero.

Over half of parents surveyed say they’ve dipped into their savings to help their adult children, with one in five making significant sacrifices. Nearly half have also put off paying down debt to provide support, and more than two in five parents reported helping at the expense of their retirement savings. Overall, about 16% of parents reported significantly putting off hitting other financial milestones in order to prioritize their children’s financial needs.

…continuing to help out adult children can lead to a “vicious cycle” where if parents overextend themselves, they might end up jeopardizing their own financial security and may need to call on their children for support at some point.