In America, the older folks tend to have more money than the younger folks. So culturally speaking, we don’t really think to send money to our elders.

The first way is pensions used to be common, so older folks get that. There are also retirement accounts that people would pay into their whole working life. (These are very commonly offered and are pretty set and forget.) Cost of living used to be a lot lower too, so they also had greater opportunity to save up as they aged.

Another way is that established people tend not to have to spend as much money. If you live in your own house and have for a while, your home goods are typically handled and you only need to replenish as needed. (I’m talking things like furniture, small fixtures… Stuff that would be a pain to move or replace if you are not as established.)

Also in the United States, current working age people pay into social security, which older folks can draw from. (There are rules and exceptions, but for the most part, this is how it works.)

So here, the older folks are in a better financial position overall. (There are of course exceptions, and with their advanced age it is harder to dig themselves out.

For myself, I am doing well. But even though I’m ahead of many of my peers, I’m still not doing as well as my parents when they were my age. The cost of my schooling was much higher than that of someone that graduated 30, 20, even 10 years before me. (But it did allow me to get a very good job.) The cost of living rose quite a bit higher than wages, so I wasn’t able to save and invest like they did. I’ve had to take on second jobs to pay for healthcare. (My parents did not have to.)

I might be a bit biased though, because I was also told I would get no financial help from my parents after I became an adult. I would be far more inclined to help if they invested in my education, which would have made me be way more far ahead financially.

However, I do help my mom when I can. I visit. I help her fix things. I don’t help her financially though.