20 percent of millennials are helping financially support their PARENTS

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They're not just moochers: 20 percent of millennials are helping financially support their parents

New survey says millennials aren't just lazy loafers but are helping financially support their folks
20 percent of millennials are shelling out to support their aging parents
Many Gen-X'ers are stuck supporting parents AND adult children

Published: 12:41 EST, 5 August 2015 | Updated: 15:12 EST, 5 August 2015

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Millennials aren't so lazy after all.

Despite their reputation as slackers who live in mom and dad's basement, 20 percent of the 'selfie generation' are helping financially support aging parents, says finance company TD Ameritrade.

A new study concluded that that 22 percent of all Americans are giving financial support to their aging parents, according to Yahoo Finance.

But probably the biggest shock was that the much-maligned millennials, famous for living at home long after they turn 18, are actually helping out the folks financially.

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Millennials aren't just moochers: A new survey says that one fifth of young Americans are actually helping to support their aging parents

TD Ameritrade's new survey says that plenty of millennials, who came of age around the year 2000, are ponying up to help out their parents.

'It’s not just the case that millennials are sitting home after college and parents are ready to get rid of them,' TD Ameritrade Director of Retirement Matthew Sadowsky.

There were approximately 75 million 'millennials' between the ages of 17 and 34 as of July 1, 2014, according to Pew Research Center.

It's possible that millennials are helping support their folks because so many are choosing to live at home.

Census Bureau figures recently showed that 20.4 million adults ages 18-34, or almost 30 percent of millennials, are living with relatives despite wage increases.

On average, Americans are shelling out $12,000 a year to help aging parents.

The survey also says that Gen X'ers, those born anywhere from the early 1960s to the early 1980s, are often caught having to help financially support their parents as well as their adult children.

Those supporting adult children and/or aging parents are costing U.S. households $630billion a year, says the survey.

Since most millennials don't yet have children, they're 'more focused on providing for their parents,' says Sadowsky.

The survey shows that millennials, who are living at home in greater numbers than generations before, are actually doing something besides loafing around and taking selfies

Other survey findings include that:

•33% of respondents think they will not have as secure a financial life as their parents.

•52% do not save or invest the same way their parents did.

•83% say they would support an aging parent over an adult child.

•69% of those who support their grown children say they will do so until they find 'well-paying jobs.'

•30% say they have 'made small sacrifices and lived more frugally' to support their families.

Sadowsky recommends that people accept the possibility that they may have to pay for someone unexpected in the family, such as an aging parent or adult child, and plan ahead.

'Set aside some of your assets in a separate account and [say] this is going to be the account that I use to support a parent or adult child down the road,' he told Yahoo Finance.

You may also want to talk to your accountant about whether or not a parent or adult child can be considered a dependent - one that can get you tax benefits.

'It's a real problem,' says Sadowsky, of people who may not have the money to suddenly care for a parent. 'It's a case where some people may have to work longer than they wanted to or do some penny pinching.'

Millennials may be in a better position than most to help their parents - reportedly those who do have jobs are saving money at a much faster clip than their forebears, according to Bloomberg News.

And it's easier to save money when you live at home.