Boomers not ready for future: survey

Almost a quarter of all baby boomers have done nothing to formalize plans about how they want to be taken care of by family members when they get older, according to a new poll.

The survey out Thursday from CIBC paints a picture of an aging population that simply refuses to plan ahead or talk about aging issues, and adult children who don’t want to question their parents about their plans from everything to money management to actual future health issues.

“Families shouldn’t wait for a health emergency or unexpected event to force a hurried conversation about caregiving and financial planning,” says David Nicholson, vice-president of CIBC Imperial Service. “These can be tough conversations, but creating a family playbook with clear plans and expectations can help reduce the emotional and financial strain to ensure everyone feels well-prepared for the years ahead.”

While the survey found 90 per cent of Canadian adults feel it’s important that parents discuss how they’d like their finances managed, only 62 per cent of Canadians with parents 65 or over have had that conversation. One reason was 40 per cent of respondents said they were uncomfortable talking about and discussing it, or were worried parents would think they were after their money.

The older adult children get, the more concerned they are about the finances of their parents. Only 26 per cent of all Canadians are concerned about helping to manage the finances of their aging parents but that jumps to 31 per cent for those aged 35-54.

It appears it will be up to the elderly to start conversations on the issue with 73 per cent of respondents with a parent 65 or over saying it is up to their folks to begin discussions like this. The survey was conducted from March 16 to 20 with 3,034 random Canadians and is considered accurate to within 1.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.