Don't rely on inheritances, children of baby boomers told

Children of the baby-boomer generation won't be able to count on inheritances and may even struggle to find babysitters if a special report proves true.

ACNielsen has been studying what it says is the "biggest demographic change" of current times - those New Zealanders aged in their late 40s to 50s known as the baby-boomer generation.

Researchers found that ageing baby-boomers plan to spend their hard-earned money on themselves in retirement rather than leaving a nest-egg for their children.

ACNielsen managing director Alistair Watts said although it was widely understood that New Zealand's population was ageing, the behavioural characteristics of this demographic and the economic implications were less clear.

He said the company was building a profile of baby-boomers that had implications for household size and structure, workforce participation, education and health.

One finding that emerged consistently was that all those surveyed intended to spend their accumulated wealth now, rather than leave it to their children.

Instead, they would try to provide for their children by paying for tertiary studies and/or allowing children to live at home much longer, sometimes rent-free.

The report found some believed they couldn't afford to retire. Others wanted to plan for their retirement and not put it off until they were too old to enjoy it.

"They don't want to feel they are wasting precious time doing things they don't enjoy, and part-time work is an increasingly attractive option."

The report found baby-boomers wanted to be taken seriously, and happily embraced change. They went through cycles of fearing age and then accepting it.

Their regrets included unfulfilled career aspirations, not dealing with health issues earlier, leaving school without qualifications, not managing their weight and image issues and wishing they had found confidence to do what they wished to do earlier in life.

Baby-boomers

How many: About 1 million.
How old: Aged 40 to 59.
How much: About $32 billion in disposable income.

In their own words

On children: Chain them up outside the supermarket.
On wealth: 'I want to support myself in my old age and I want to relax and enjoy myself.'
On shopping: 'I like trying free tastings of new products.'
On technology: 'I have over 20 PINs - how am I supposed to remember them all?'
Source: ACNielsen