Analysis: Best Ways to Financially Support Aging Parents (Reuters)

A MetLife analysis of National Health and Retirement Study data reveals that 25 percent of Americans spend money caring for an aging parent, a number that has more than tripled in the past 15 years. In many cases, this spending causes childen to worry whether they will have enough resources to cover their own retirement. Even affluent families have these concerns, and they also have questions about the best way to support aging family members. Of course, the answers depend on your family’s specific situation, but the good news is that there are multiple options, from an annual gift of up to $13,000 per person to a reverse-mortgage style loan to a more straightforward loan that helps aging relatives cover immediate expenses without creating dangerous dependency issues.