Broke boomers are moving in with their millennial kids

Get the guest room ready, because Mom and Dad are moving in. What sounds like the logline of a ’90s sitcom is becoming reality for many millennials around the country—because their boomer parents didn’t save enough for retirement.

“My mother, who I had not spoken with in several years at the time, had the audacity to message me on Facebook that she was moving in with me in my one-bedroom, that she would be getting the bedroom, and that I would be sleeping on the couch,” a Reddit user wrote in a thread about the topic.

As more boomers reach retirement age, many are facing the stark reality of insufficient savings—and turning, oftentimes reluctantly, to their adult children for support. The median retiree has $142,000 in savings, according to a study by real estate company Clever—a far cry from the $1 million they say they’ll need to retire comfortably.

A growing segment of adults are housing their “reverse boomerang” parents. In 2021, 9% of multigenerational households were headed by 25- to 34-year-olds, up from 6% in 2001, according to the Pew Research Center. And the new roommates often come with extra baggage.

How did we get here?

After a video of a millennial discussing her boomer parents moving in went viral on TikTok, many took to TikTok and Reddit to share their own experiences.

“My Texan inlaws did not plan for their retirement, and always told my husband they would live with him since he’s the oldest son,” one Reddit user wrote. “They refused to help us, even by babysitting their grandkids while their son was in the hospital with a burst appendix.”

“When they complain they can’t afford retirement and need a cheaper place to live I respond, ‘that’s too bad, but we have no room for you here,’” the user continued.

Other users commiserated on their parents’ poor financial health. “My parents owe $120k on their $30k house they bought in 1984,” a Reddit comment reads. “I don’t even know how … you do that.”

Heads of households

To be sure, doubling up on housing to save money isn’t reserved for the elderly. The number of Americans who live in multigenerational households has quadrupled since 1971, thanks in part to the rising cost of living. A Credit Karma report from January revealed that almost one-third of Gen Zers over 18 live with a parent or family member because they can’t afford their own place.

Saving money was the number one reason for moving home, according to a Bloomberg News and Harris Poll survey, followed by taking care of older family members or dealing with immediate financial constraints. 

While young adults moving back to their parents’ homes is the dominant arrangement, the “reverse boomerang” effect is on the rise as well. Pew found that in 2021, 15% of 25- to 34-year-olds in multigenerational households were living in their own home and had a parent or other older relative living with them—up from 12.7% in 2011. But for many adults, living under the same roof as their parents again has strained not only their finances—but their relationships as well.

“We made our [garage] into a room for my mother-in-law and she totally disrespected us,” one TikTok user wrote. “It lasted one year. She is not allowed back.”

“Went through this myself, I now don’t speak to my parents,” another user wrote. “I got them situated in an affordable trailer home (house was too expensive) and said bye.”

Why Boomers are reverse-boomeranging

Generational framings often paint a picture of carefree retirees sipping on rare wines in exotic locales, while their millennial counterparts shell out their life savings on avocado toast and minimalist apartments, waiting for the $90 trillion Great Wealth Transfer to make them rich.

But boomers may not be as well off as the headlines suggest. According to a Federal Reserve survey, 49% of 65- to 74-year-olds had no retirement savings at all as of 2022—even though more than three-quarters of that demographic owned their own homes.

Economists have long called aging populations a demographic “time bomb” waiting to detonate—and the children of boomer parents are beginning to see its fallout.

Some millennials are now turning boomer tropes against their parents. As one Reddit comment reads: “Maybe they should have saved for a rainy day. Pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. Stop eating fast food. And quit buying that $9 bottle of white wine.”

[This report has been updated to highlight a variety of Reddit threads and TikTok comments about the trend of parents moving in with their children.]

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