PenPenWrites

As readers of this blog may know, I've got quite a collection here of studies done in Great Britain, Australia and other countries on how "the bank of mum and dad"  is faring in this economic downturn. Short answer: not well. To complement those reports, here's one from Pew on how our perspectives of the downturn and our financial well being are tempered or magnified by the age group we find ourselves in. Our grown kids, it turns out, are the most hopeful–time is on their side. But here's some of what Pew [Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends] found about the rest of us.

Adults 65 and older–most of whom have already retired and downsized
their lifestyles–have escaped the downturn's full fury. Adults in late middle
age (50 to 64) have seen their nest eggs shrink the most and their
anxieties about retirement swell the most. Younger adults (ages 18-49)
have taken the worst lumps in the job market but remain relatively
upbeat about their financial future.

Some details of interest:

Older adults are less likely to say the recession has been a source of stress in
their family. Despite the recession, three-quarters say they expect to
be able to leave an inheritance for their children–even though more
than half of all older adults say the recession has reduced the amount
of money or property they expect to bequeath.

Two-thirds of adults ages 50-64 say they lost money in the past year in
mutual funds, individual stocks or 401(k)-type retirement accounts. Of
those who report such losses, two-in-ten say they lost more than 40% of
their investments' value and nearly four-in-ten say they lost 20% to
40%. By comparison, far fewer older adults or younger adults report
losing money in stocks and retirement accounts in the past year.