Parents struggle as adult children stay home due to limping economy

Sadly, it’s an all too familiar sight these days in a limping economy… parents supporting their adult children financially despite nearing their retirement.

The years of children finishing their schooling and finding a job, or if they are fortunate, completing their tertiary education as they leave the nest, is not the norm these days.

The University of Cape Town Liberty Institute of Strategic Marketing’s Forerunners Report (over 55s), published this week, revealed that 64% of middle-class parents aged 55-60 had children living at home because of slow economic growth.

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James Lappeman, head of projects at the institute, said: “The ability to become fully independent, even for graduates to buy a house, is taking a little longer because looking at the economy 20 years ago, it was almost the same cost of buying a car. Now, there’s been a major shift in the economy that have made things like buying a house more expensive.”

It’s not all doom and gloom though. With many adults, aged 55 and above, continuing to work and remain active it’s a huge plus in a struggling economy.

It’s also felt that these adults have planned better for their retirement than past generations.