U.K.: Families rallying round the elderly

EDINBURGH, Scotland (The Scotsman), June 14, 2008: UP TO 1.7 million adults are supporting their parents financially, new research has suggested. Nearly one in ten UK adults with parents of 65 or over is helping with retirement costs such as day-to-day expenses and care, according to a survey conducted by Engage Mutual Assurance. It found that over 3 per cent of adults with parents over 65 – equivalent to over half a million adults – have taken their parents into their own or a relative's home to help with the costs of living and care. One in four of those surveyed was worried about the family's ability to cover the cost of their parents' retirement. "As the costs of living rises retirees are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet," said Karl Elliott, spokesman for Engage Mutual. "In hard times people often turn to family members for support and, as our research shows, this is the case for elderly relatives as well as young adults." © 2008 Johnston Press Digital Publishing