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How your children are draining your retirement funds
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A recent study from Hearts & Wallets, a research platform for investment and retirement solutions, found that baby boomers who had adult children not dependent upon them are two and a half times more likely to be retired that those with dependents. - photo by Tyler Stahle
For the modern baby boomer, having your millennial children move in with you can bring a sense of youth and vitality. But adjusting to this new liefstyle isn't all fun and games. In fact, new research says taking care of your children after they've graduated from college may be sucking your retirement reservoir dry.

A recent study from Hearts & Wallets, a research platform for investment and retirement solutions, found that baby boomers who had adult children not dependent upon them are two and a half times more likely to be retired than those who have adult kids living off support from mom and dad.

The research, which was based off a survey from over 5,000 American households, found that only 21 percent of baby boomers supporting adult children are fully retired significantly lower than the 52 percent of baby boomers not supporting their adult children who were retired.

The study comes at an interesting time, as more and more millennial adults are moving back in with parents.

In fact, a 2013 Pew Research study noted that 36 percent of Americans between 18 and 30 were living at home at the end of 2012. Considering that only 32 percent of adult children lived at home in 1968, the 4 percent spike of late represents a noticeable shift for millions of todays rising generation.

While its easy to say that millennials who move in with parents are simply too lazy to get a job and make something of their lives, Jordan Weissmann of Slate says there's more to the story.

In the past several months, a handful of studies have suggested that the reasons grown children are returning to the nest in greater numbers than ever may have less to do with the rise and fall of the unemployment rate, and more to do with lasting changes to young adult life, such as the growth of student debt and delayed marriage," he wrote.

According to the Institute for College Access and Success, todays college students are graduating with an average of $30,000 in student loan debt. Such heaping amounts of debt scare many college graduates right back into their parents basement a trend that frightens many experts, as these millennials are held back from joining the economic mainstream.

If you never get into the whole U.S. economic system because youve been held back by too much early debt, said Ted Beck, CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education, to USA Today, we could have a lot of people who just never really come anywhere near their potential.

And delaying entry into the mainstream economic cycle not only hurts millennials, but causes pressure and anxiety for boomers, too.

Boomers who support their adult children are 25 percent more likely to have heightened financial anxiety than their peers (other boomers), said Chris Brown of Hearts & Wallets. Those with grown kids who dont support them are sleeping better at night.

This could be because of the uncertainty many parents experience when they welcome their adult children back home.

The big question for these people is: How long are they going to be supporting their adult children? If the child is unemployed or underemployed and cant pay his or her bills, you dont know how long that will last, and that adds to the stress, he said.

Brown noted that boomers who are still supporting their adult children say their biggest financial concern was saving enough for retirement. Interestingly enough, boomers not supporting children said theyre not even slightly concerned about retirement savings.
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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
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The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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