Kit Roberts
People have branded a boomer couple 'evil' after they explained how they were spending their child's inheritance on travelling the world.
As baby boomers enter retirement age and begin to die, many Millennial children are set to be part of one of the biggest collective generational transfers of wealth in history.
That is, of course, assuming the boomers don't just spend it all.
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Astonishingly, that's precisely what one couple from Victoria in Australia has decided to do, spending money they had set aside for their sons to inherit on travelling the world instead.
And Leanne and Leon Ryland appeared entirely unapologetic about their decision on a SBS program Insight.
Leanne said: “We’ve done all the right things by investing in property, boosting up our super, making sure that was healthy, going without a lot of things."
“And he said, ‘You’re crazy if you don’t retire when you can, because you’ll spend most of your wealth on travel or whatever in the first 10 years, and then after that it slows down’.
“It’s changing our mindset. You get into a phase now where you actually spend instead of save.”
Pointing at her son, Leanne added: “Because if we don’t spend it, you know he gets it."
Since their retirement, the couple has spent some $114,631 on travelling, visiting Machu Picchu in Peru, India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
The pair even started a Facebook group called the 'SKIclub', 'SKI' standing for 'Spending Kids' Inheritance'.
“We’re not going to be able to spend all this money so let’s do it now because in another 10 years we won’t be climbing the Great Wall of China. We won’t be going up Machu Picchu."
Given how difficult it is for many younger people to save, gifts or inheritance are the only hope many Millennials and Gen Z may have of owning a home, if they're lucky enough to have family that can help them.
Needless to say, many people were less than impressed by the couple's refusal to leave their son anything at all, perhaps to help him get on the property ladder.
One wrote: “Boomers are evil … bragging about overseas holidays and spending all their money so their kids have no inheritance."
Another posted: “SBS Insight tonight is hilarious. Boomer privilege at its best and still not conscious of it. So entitled.”
As for their son Alex, he seemed okay with his parents' decision, or perhaps resigned to it.
He said: “It’s their money. They’ve worked hard their entire life and invested well in order to get that money, so I think they should be able to do whatever they like with it.”
Alex, blink twice if you're under duress.