A study conducted by Norwich Union Equity Release has shown 76 per cent of Brits are guilty of this lack of communication.
Two-thirds of respondents did not know what their parents’ annual income is, with more than one in three stating 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 had a will. However 10 per cent of respondents said that they have tried to bring up the topic, but their parents refused to discuss it with them.
Of those whose parents had made a will, 31 per cent had never seen it and do not know what it contains.
Although the state pension offers a fairly tight annual income of £4,539.60 for singles and £7,259.20 for couples, the majority of those surveyed (58 per cent) said that they thought their parents were relying on that alone to fund their retirement.
17 per cent do admit to worrying about their parents' financial situation though.
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."
To encourage greater interaction within families, Norwich Union has launched a website offering information regarding parents’ finances - www.norwichunion.com/equity-release/offspring.htm
