Lucky for me my parents were both “I didn’t save anything for retirement, my kids will take care of me when I’m older”, so I don’t have to suffer through this.
Lucky for me my parents were both “I didn’t save anything for retirement, my kids will take care of me when I’m older”, so I don’t have to suffer through this.
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.
In my family the house was sold so that we could pay for the funeral. (Funerals are super expensive and the house was rotting)
However, if you do get some money later in life you could always invest and grow it so that it can be passed down. By the time you die hopefully your kids will be responsible enough to manage it (I am assuming you have kids)
This money you use to pay for your children or grandchildren’s college, house, whatever. Same as the last hundred years