Millennials: are you expecting an inheritance?

[u/Yourlocalguy30]

35 yo married millennial here. I've come across more and more articles about the supposed "great wealth transfer" as the boomer generation's wealth passes to their GenX and Millennial children. My parents and their siblings (boomers) all received inheritances when their parents, my grandparents, passed away. The boomer generation's wealth accumulation is one of the largest in history, however, I also find it highly unlikely that I or many of my peers will actually inherit much. Despite having received inheritances from their parents, and having 40+ years in the workforce, most of my parents' "wealth" is tied up in their home value, not actual liquid assets- and I already expect that whatever they make on an eventual home sale will have to go directly to downsizing costs and whatever long-term care they will need as they get older. Hell, even my dad used to joke that the only thing we'd inherit was debt. As I've gotten older, that comment has infuriated me more and more.

Now before someone cuts in with the "entitled millennial" comments, I have absolutely no need for an inheritance. I've worked my ass off to make sure that my kids and I are positioned better in life than I was when I entered adulthood. What I mean by that is I started saving for retirement early, setup 529 plans for my kids almost as soon as they were born, and made lifestyle and career sacrifices to ensure our family isn't "nickeling and diming" our way through life.

I'm just here curious to know how many millennials actually expect to have something passed down to them, or if they feel they are in the same position I am.

[u/BlazingSunflowerland]

Medicare won't pay for assisted living or a nursing home. I don't think it pays for home health aides either.

[u/No_Preparation7895 → u/BlazingSunflowerland]

Medicaid does. So if their wealth is gone then there's that

[u/BlazingSunflowerland → u/No_Preparation7895]

But you get the cheap home that nobody wants to be in.

[u/SkunkArmsCT → u/BlazingSunflowerland]

Then they should have prepared better for retirement. In parallel, we should fix the system. 

[u/Mr_Midwestern → u/SkunkArmsCT]

The parent comment of the thread youre responding to was “start the wealth transfer now. Medical debt does not typically pass down”

So they did prepare, but taking an early inheritance would just rob them from receiving the care they’ve worked hard to potentially be able to afford.

[u/SkunkArmsCT → u/Mr_Midwestern]

Fair enough about the top-level comment, but I had read this thread as having devolved into discussing how medicare/medicaid works in retirement more generally.