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More than half of Gen X parents worry about supporting their adult kids, survey shows

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As Adinah Caro-Greene maps out her financial future, there’s a variable that may have held less weight for previous generations: her child.

The employee benefits broker said she’s seen how rising education, housing and health-care costs have created economic challenges for her Gen Z son and his peers. Part of the Bay Area resident’s long-term financial goals is to fully pay off a rental property that he can inherit and potentially live in.

“It’s uniquely hard for kids now,” said Caro-Greene, 45. “Seeing how hard it is for my son’s generation has motivated me to do what I can.”

Caro-Greene isn’t alone. A majority — or 53% — of Gen X parents who are worried their child may need financial support well into adulthood, according to a U.S. Bank survey of around 2,500 adults released earlier this year. That’s compared with just 37% of parents across all generations.

Gen X is a “sandwich” generation, facing the financial pressures of simultaneously supporting parents in retirement and kids as they come of age. Most Americans are grappling with the runaway inflation that followed the pandemic, but parents in this age group are uniquely focused on whether their kin will ever be able to make it without monetary aid.

A ‘worried’ generation

Gen Xers have grown up amid less-than-ideal economic conditions, which can bolster feelings of uncertainty, said Tom Thiegs, family wealth coach at U.S. Bank’s Ascent Private Capital Management. Notably, he pointed out that they’ve witnessed four of the five largest stock market crashes in history within their lifetimes.

They were among the first to mainly utilize 401K plans for retirement rather than pensions, he said. Now, this group is also questioning if Social Security and Medicare will stay around long enough for them to reap the benefits of systems they helped support throughout their adult lives, Thiegs said.

Clients Thiegs talks to are “worried,” but not to the extent that they’re “paralyzed,” he said, explaining that these clients have been through economic downturns before. Instead, he’s noticed a mindset among Gen X of being ready to roll with any unexpected punches.

“It’s not just all doom and gloom for Gen X,” he said. “There’s also this understanding that we’ll be able to figure it out.”

Gen X parents aren’t necessarily concerned that they’ll be in the hook for their kids’ poor financial choices. In fact, the U.S. Bank survey found 79% said their children are able to “successfully” manage their finances.

Instead, this economic stress stems from factors outside of parents’ or children’s control, Thiegs said. Beyond rising prices for everyday needs like groceries, he pointed to higher housing costs as a factor that’s left Gen Z in a more financially precarious position.

The bank of mom and dad

Caro-Greene said it’s common among parents she knows to give money to their young-adult children, especially given the high cost of living in the San Francisco area. It’s a particularly hard time, she said, because of what she charactized as a tough job market for those entering the white-collar workforce.

Expenses for even the youngest in corporate America can add up. A Savings.com survey published this year found parents that offer financial support to their kids were shelling out $1,384 a month on average. When looking just at Gen Z offspring, that figure shot up to $1,515.

That can lead to a question of how long, or to what extent, parents should be footing bills for their kids into adulthood, according to Marguerita Cheng, who is both a mother and certified financial planner. The answer is both simple and highly individual, she said.

“I would never tell you not to help your child,” said Cheng, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth in Gaithersburg, Maryland. But, “it’s important to have boundaries or limitations to giving.”

Cheng said parents should avoid helping their child to the point that they, themselves, will deplete savings and struggle in retirement. She also said parents can try to remove the stigma around discussing money and shame around decisions like living at home after graduating college.

For those that do have the means to help out, she’s found clear guidelines can be a useful tool. For example, a parent might set a cap on how much money they will give a child who is moving, or distribute funds incrementally over a predetermined timeframe.

Given Gen X’s experiences, Thiegs has found the generation thinks differently about their dollars and how to use them. It’s an equation, he said, that increasingly includes children and other family members.

“They’ve broadened into a more holistic view of money,” Thiegs said. “It’s not just balancing your checkbook, but also understanding what, long term, do I want for my life.”

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Economics

Marco Rubio, MAGA and the State Department’s new look

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SOMETHING STRANGE happened on April 22nd. A top member of America’s cabinet announced big changes to his department—and it did not represent a MAGA-inspired overhaul. At a time when Donald Trump’s worst instincts are dominating public policy, it is notable that Marco Rubio’s reforms at the State Department resemble what might have come out of a conventional Republican administration.

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Economics

If Trump wants rate cuts, he would likely need to replace the Fed’s full board

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 21, 2025.

Leah Millis | Reuters

President Donald Trump’s public criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell has fueled concern that he will try to fire the central bank chief, but even that historic and legally questionable move may not be enough for Trump to bend monetary policy in his preferred direction.

Even firing Powell won’t necessarily get Trump the rate cuts he wants, according to multiple economists.

“In all likelihood, however, firing Powell would just be the first step in dismantling the Fed’s independence. If Trump is set on lowering interest rates then he will have to fire the other six Fed Board Members too, which would trigger a more severe market backlash, with the dollar falling and rates at the long end of the yield curve rising,” said Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, in a recent note.

Powell is chair of both the Fed board of governors and the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rate policy. Ashworth pointed out that, while FOMC members usually choose to make the president-appointed board of governors chair to lead them, they can buck Trump and choose someone else as head of the rate-setting committee. And JPMorgan’s chief U.S. economist, Michael Feroli, said in a note Monday that “most of the power of the leadership stems from the historical deference” rather than the actual mechanics of the job.

Deutsche Bank senior economist Peter Sidorov echoed the idea that individual Fed members might vote against the wishes of a new leader if they feel Trump has overstepped.

“Note that while the Fed Chair has significant influence over the FOMC, monetary policy actions are taken by a majority vote so removing Powell could lead to increased pushback from other members against pressure on the Fed to deliver easier policy,” Sidorov said in a note to clients Tuesday.

This discussion on Wall Street comes after Trump has criticized Powell multiple times in recent days, including calling the Fed chair “a major loser” in a social media post Monday that rocked financial markets. White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said last week that the president and his team were exploring the possibility of removing the Fed chair.

It is unclear whether Trump even has the authority to remove Powell before his term as board of governors chair ends next year. Powell has previously said he does not believe it is legally allowed for the president to fire him. The Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal about Trump’s firing of board members at other federal organizations in a case that could shed light on what’s next for the Fed.

The speculation about changes at the Fed, along with the ongoing tariff uncertainty, appears to have hurt investor confidence in the United States. U.S. stocks, bonds and the dollar have all fallen in recent weeks.

Wall Street pros worry that changes at the Fed could lead to further sell-offs and fears of higher inflation.

“Any reduction in the independence of the Fed would add upside risks to an inflation outlook that is already subject to upward pressures from tariffs and somewhat elevated inflation expectations,” Feroli said in a note to clients.

“It has been hoped that these adverse consequences would dissuade the president from threatening Fed independence, though so far the president has often followed through on his intentions,” he added.

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

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Economics

ECB’s Lagarde says she hopes firing of Fed’s Powell is not on table

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Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), comments on the central bank’s latest interest rate decision to journalists.

Photo by Andreas Arnold/picture alliance via Getty Images

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Tuesday said she hoped that the prospect of U.S. President Donald Trump firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was not on the table.

Asked by CNBC’s Sara Eisen if that scenario was a current material risk to markets, Lagarde said: “I certainly hope not … I hope that it is not a risk.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF World Bank Spring Meetings, Lagarde told CNBC that she would not comment on the market implications of an event she hoped was “not on the table.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has been ramping up pressure on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to reduce interest rates, warning the U.S. economy could slow down otherwise.

Powell had in turn last week suggested that Trump’s trade war could weigh on growth and fuel inflation. He did not indicate his expectations for the interest rate path ahead, but noted that “for the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance.”

Trump appointed Powell during his first presidential mandate, but is now looking into whether the Fed chief can legally be sacked before him term expires.

The ECB and the Fed have been diverging on monetary policy.

The euro area’s central bank has consistently cut rates as inflation closes in on its 2% target and economic growth in the bloc appears lackluster. The Fed has meanwhile been keeping rates steady this year, after enacting three consecutive cuts between September and December last year.

The ECB last week cut interest rates by a further 25 basis points, making its third reduction of 2025 and its seventh trim since it began easing monetary policy last summer. In its monetary policy statement, the central bank warned of a weakened growth outlook linked to the global trade uncertainty stoked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.

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