‘American Demographics’: The Wealth Transfer

With predictions that at least $1-trillion will shift from the parents of baby boomers to their children, a “small army of lawyers, accountants, and financial planners — as well as real estate brokers, travel agents, and car salesmen — hope to profit,” says American Demographics (May).

While many nonprofit groups have also been keeping a close eye on what the intergenerational money transfer will mean for them, it’s becoming less and less clear how much money the baby boomers will end up with, the magazine says.

Not only do breakthroughs in health care mean that people are living longer, but the stock-market collapse has eroded the wealth of many of the boomers’ parents. Other factors, the magazine says: a declining interest in leaving bequests and a desire among older people to spend more of their money while they are alive.

The magazine says the percentage of people older than 65 who say it’s important to leave an inheritance was 47 percent in 2000, dropping from 56 percent in the early 1990s.

The article is available online at http://www.demographics.com. The charge is $2.95.