Intergenerational economic assistance to children: the case of widows and widowers

This research focuses on intrafamilial financial assistance and a) whether loss of spouse influences this form of aid from aging parents to adult children, and b) whether this difference is influenced by the gender of the surviving parent. Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Retirement History Study, and the sample consisted of surviving spouses from originally intact couples. Prewidowhood patterns of financial help were compared with those following death of spouse, utilizing both descriptive statistics and multivariate logit analysis. Continuously married panel members were employed as controls. The findings suggest that widowhood is not a predictor of financial assistance patterns. Although the widowed, especially women, are less likely to provide financial help to adult children, this difference is explained largely by other factors.