The Motivation for Intergenerational Time and Financial Transfers

This study investigated the motivation for intergenerational financial and time transfers between parents and adult children using data from the Health and Retirement Study. The results showed that emotional closeness between parents and adult children was significantly associated with both adult children to parent and parent to adult children transfers. In addition, parents and adult children who met frequently were more likely to help each other by making financial or time transfers. Also, financial transfers between parents and adult children were motivated by the donor's altruism to the disadvantaged adult children or parents. However, wealthier parents and adult children with full-time jobs were less likely to make time transfers. The results of this study help in understanding the motivation for various types of intergenerational transfers in an aging society.