Britons unaware of retired parents’ financial struggles, says Norwich Union

New research from Norwich Union Equity Release has found that over three quarters of Britons with parents aged over 60 have never discussed their parents' finances with them.

The study was compiled as part of ongoing research to support Norwich Union’s equity release offering and shows a surprising lack of communication between generations. To encourage greater interaction within families, Norwich Union has launched a website offering information regarding parents’ finances.

The research which prompted the website found that nearly two thirds of respondents did not know what their parents’ annual income is. In fact, more than one in three think that their parents’ finances are none of their business, regardless of whether they are beneficiaries of their estate.

Nearly half of the respondents did not even know if their parents have a will. Of these, 20% had never even asked their parents whether they have written a will, whilst 10% say they have tried to bring up the topic, but their parents have refused to discuss it with them. Of those whose parents had made a will, a third had never seen it and do not know what it contains.

However, consumers seem to be undeterred by this lack of awareness of their parents’ finances. The majority believe that their parents are relying on the state pension for their retirement provision. Although this offers a fairly tight annual income of GBP4,539.60 for singles and GBP7,259.20 for couples, nearly eight in 10 respondents do not think their parents are struggling financially. However, 17% admit to worrying about their parents’ financial situation.

Anthony Rafferty, head of marketing, post retirement at Norwich Union, commented: These results show that we must encourage the over 60s to speak to their children about their retirement income. We are well past the days when discussing financial matters was considered taboo. The research raises many questions about how many elderly people could be struggling to make their pension pot stretch, whilst not feeling able to talk to their family about their cash flow.