BABY BOOMERS PROVIDING ASSISTANCE

As baby boomers edge closer to retirement, many deal with the financial obligations of their parents and children, according to a poll released by the Pew Research Center.
Sixty-eight percent of baby boomers with adult children help those children financially.
Twenty-nine percent of baby boomers whose parents are still alive provide them with some financial assistance.
Thirteen percent of all baby boomers provide financial support to both parents and children.
Two-thirds of baby boomers say parents have a responsibility to pay for their children's college education, an opinion that varies little with income.
One-third of boomers say parents have a responsibility to provide housing for adult children.
Fifty-six percent of boomers say adult children have a responsibility to provide housing for elderly parents.
About half of baby boomers expect their biggest source of retirement income to be private investment accounts. Twenty-one percent expect Social Security to be their largest source, and 19 percent expect employer pension plans to provide the bulk of their money.
Among people already retired, 42 percent said Social Security is their largest source of income.
Fifty-five percent of baby boomers said that once they retire, they expect to either "live very comfortably" or "meet expenses with a little left over." Twenty-four percent said they expect to just meet basic living expenses, and 17 percent said they don't expect to have enough for the basics.
Source: Pew Research Center poll of 3,014 adults, including 1,117 baby boomers, conducted Oct. 5 to Nov. 6. The baby boomer results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.