Mildly Infuriating

Watched my mom work her ass off to raise me and save everything she could for retirement. She got to do some fun things, but not enough. I'm glad she had good insurance and a little money saved for when she got sick. I inherited a house with a mortgage, taxes, insurance, and repairs that are bleeding me dry and I'm pulling money out of my retirement to cover it. I'm thankful that it's given my son a decent place to live for the last year and i hope to break even when we sell it. I'm fine with that. I didn't earn it. I didn't take care of her for money. If you're only helping your family because you want money, you suck and they're probably better off without you.

My thought is that if you’re going to give money, don’t wait until you die. The earlier you help someone, the more of their life it can improve. Help your kid buy their first house or something. Then spend everything before you die.

“we set our money on fire and voted for trump. good luck” - boomers

More like .... "Boomers decide to watch and accelerate the burning of the world because they're going to die soon anyway"

I know poor and wealthy people in every generation. Why aren't we blaming the banks for the 08 crash, the politicians for taking away almost every social service and trying to take away more, and the psychopath CEOs who care about their dick measuring contests every quarter? This generational divide obscures the real issues.

I'm relying on my inheritance from my mum to get a house, but that's mostly from selling her house, I'm sure her actual savings will be quite low by the time that comes around.

not eveyone get inheritances. what we need is social safety nets and to collect taxes on wealth.

I’m all for the average retiree spending freely and enjoying what they earned. They spent a lifetime working; it’s their money. Inheritance issues create way too many family disputes.

This is fucking dumb. I told my parents to spend it up. I'm not entitled to it

"I got mine."

my kids will take care of me when I'm older

with what?

What doesn't get spent on enjoying a retirement we will never get, will be claimed by medical bills from failing health. Generational wealth doesn't apply to us, and no one is coming to save you.

Us child free Gen Xers on the other hand...

Inheritance is weird. My partner and I stand to inherit a good bit when the parents on either side pass. Both sides of the family had successful middle class careers saved and invested well. Even considering the siblings on both sides, we could inherit an amount around $1M from either side.

But it's weird in two ways. First, it's not something that can be counted on. On either side it could be completely eaten up by nursing home care and medical costs for our parents. So we're not planning our own retirement assuming a windfall from inheritance. Second, on either side, unless they're unlucky, at least one of the parents is likely to live into their late 80s or 90s. So we'll already be in our 60s or 70s.

In other words, while we stand to likely inherit a good chunk of change, it will come so late in life that we won't really need it. Unless our parents die younger than expected, we will already be well into a fully funded retirement by the time they pass.

I feel inheritance made a lot more sense in the past. A farmer or a craftsman would will their farm or business to their children. And that child would take over that business while the parent was still alive, but too old to work it anymore. The child got the business or farm, but in turn had to support the parent in their later years.

But now? You're basically just inheriting your parent's house and whatever is left over of their retirement accounts. And you're doing so at an age where it really doesn't necessarily help you. Sure, if you yourself are unable to retire, then that windfall will be a godsend. But considering how wealth reproduces through generations, if you're in a position to inherit substantial funds from your parents, odds are you probably have a pretty big nest egg yourself built up by then. The people who could really use an inheritance to fund their retirement are unlikely to have parents wealthy enough to give them one.

But yeah, this is why I support strong inheritance taxes. For most people who inherit anything substantial, by the time you actually inherit something, you don't really need it anymore.

Inheritance is clearly societal ill, and even on a personal level, depending on inheritance might cause family troubles

Oh this is me. Their house is packed and they keep buying more shit and going on international cruises. We’ll get nothing.

I'll certainly be out of this world long before I ever stopped to think about my retirement. That's my retirement plan.

Most people need to sell their estate to pay for end of life care, just tell your boomer parents they can spend their last days in whatever dumpster their meagre estate can afford and they might rethink their next cruise.

Let me tell you, as someone with potentially a bit of wealth to give out when I kick the bucket, every week with my kids I get this idea at least once. In some ways, it's the last bit of power we have until becoming of unsound mind. I'm hoping they'll grow out of making me feel that.

I am not one of those children that clutches their pearls for family members to give what they busted their ass for away for free. My father just paid off the mortgage of his home. It is his.

And he paid it for over 25 years as people like us lived in and left it. It is just unearned entitlement for any of us to come to him, demanding or expecting something he earned through hard work.

And it is something generations after his wont understand. You try being 66 years old and enduring the grind for so long to finally have something like a home to yourself. And not have a thought of reluctance of just giving it away.

It is ironic considering how much of a clutch todays generations have with their phones. Does anyone think they are the kind to give a home away when it is paid off? You tell me.

A ton of it is going to scammers overseas too, even better.