According to a pair of recent surveys, more and more people nearing retirement age are ill-prepared for it. Many are not even conscious of the true costs that lay ahead of them. As a consequence, the tradition of leaving a financial legacy for you kids is quickly becoming a quaint custom of history.

Not as many mothers and fathers leaving cash

Anybody born between 1946 and 1964 is recognized as one of the baby boomers. About 14 percent of boomer’s parents say they will leave anything to their kids after they die, so seniors should not be expecting any kind of inheritance.

Hendrik Hartog, author of “Someday All This Will Be Yours,” wrote:

“Culturally, the idea of a legacy has disappeared for all but the very wealthy.”

Change to sustaining parents

Instead, many elderly mothers and fathers are using every cent they accumulate to live the remainder of their own lives. Often, it even becomes up to their children to give them a hand.

KLB Financials Kay Kramer said:

“There’s no question that 10 years ago people were expecting greater inheritances than they are now. With very few exceptions, people don’t want to count on anything. And we’ve got some people who are actively helping parents out because they don’t have enough.”

Increasing med expenses

Right now, the average American’s net worth is about $77,000, which was the same as it was 20 years ago. The value of homes and other assets are dropping too with the economic depression, according to the Star Tribune. Retirement is becoming much more costly with increasing expenses of medical care.

Not expecting it to cost so much

A second study from Allianz recently concluded that about a third of transition seniors — those between the ages of 55 and 65 — were not even sure of how much they will have to accrue for retirement.

President and CEO of Allianz Life, Walter White, explained:

“It’s alarming that so many boomers on the cusp of retirement are still unclear about the basic factors which determine their ability to fund their lifestyle once they stop working.”

About 10 percent of those in the survey even imagined about inflation when preparing for retirement. About 16 percent looked at taxes when it came to estimating for the future. People usually do not include taxes or inflation.

Beginning earlier

There were many people who did not prepare early. In fact, 16 percent said they would wait until they were a year away from leaving the job to start saving. Another 43 percent said that they did not consider retirement until they were five years away from leaving their job. Allianz suggests everyone get a head start.

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