Your Inheritance

Remember those headlines of the 1990s that suggested Baby Boomers would reap a mega-windfall of trillions of dollars — one of the largest intergenerational transfers of wealth in history?

As many are learning, it's not quite panning out that way.

A recent AARP study based on 2004 federal data has found that nearly 81 percent of boomers — the oldest of whom are turning 60 this year — have yet to receive an inheritance, and less than 15 percent expect to ever get one, down from more than 27 percent in 1989.   "People are seeing that people are living longer," said John Gist, associate director of AARP's Public Policy Institute and co-author of the report: In Their Dreams: What Will Boomers Inherit?  "They're likely to use up a lot of their resources for their retirement," he said.  One of the biggest drains on savings is health care, especially with average life expectancy at about 78 years. 

Baby Boomers expect to inherit less from their parents than previous generations because:

A.  Aging parents have more ex-spouses to support.

B.  Baby boomers tend to have more siblings than previous generations.

C.  Baby boomers are more likely to be estranged from their parents.

D.  Parents are living longer and using more of their retirement resources.

Source: Arizona Daily Star, August 13, 2006, www.azstarnet.com