How Many Retirement Plans Does Our Farm Need to Fund?

By: Myron Friesen

Successful Farming‘s ‘Can Their Problem be Solved?’ advice column from farm financial adviser Myron Friesen tackles the question of planning for your retirement, but not your children’s.

The Problem

My wife and I have worked our tails off all of our lives. We have made it through some miserable times with weather, machinery, dust, and manure, not to mention the financial misery that brought us to our knees on several occasions when we thought we might lose everything. It’s kind of hard to imagine what we have, knowing what it took to get here.

Here’s our dilemma: The farm is our 401(k). We have enough for ourselves, but that cannot be said for our children. One has been farming with us and mostly understands. Another is doing pretty well financially off the farm. The other two have always struggled financially. The problem is, they all think they are part of our retirement plan. Not all of our kids are acquiring income, producing assets, or saving any money at all. Plus, when some of them face a little financial hardship, they “hint” to us they could use some money.