PARENTS AND ADULT CHILDREN OUT OF SYNC IN FINANCIAL TALKS

Boston -- Adult children and their parents struggle to communicate on key financial topics, according to a new study by Fidelity Investments. Fidelity's Intra-Family Generational Finance Study found that adult children are not only anxious about their own finances, but also their parents' future health, retirement security and estate plan. The study revealed that 97 percent of parents and children disagree on whether a child will take care of their parents if they become ill.

Children underestimate the value of their parent's estate by an average of more than $100,000. In addition, 24 percent of adult children believe that they will have to help their parents financially in retirement, while 97 percent of parents say that they will not need help. The study also found that both parents (68 percent) and their adult children (60 percent) feel more comfortable discussing such issues with a third-party financial professional than with each other.

MAJORITY OF WOMEN UNPREPARED FOR RETIREMENT

Chicago -- Women are woefully underprepared for retirement, with four out of 10 having less than $10,000 saved, and only 21 percent having more than $100,000 in all their investment accounts, according to research from Mintel.

Approximately 58 percent of single women over the age of 45 who have any kind of savings have less than $50,000 saved, while only 22 percent have more than $100,000. At the same time, these women are aware of their need to step up their savings efforts, as only 5 percent of 45-54-year-old women and 16 percent of 55-64-year-old women believe they are saving enough for their twilight years.

Thirty-six percent of women who aren't retired yet say that they plan to keep working at least part-time during retirement because they expect they will need the income. That increases to 50 percent for women who are 55 to 64 years old. Lack of planning is evident in that only 13 percent of women who aren't retired say they have determined the age at which they will be able to do so.