Todd and Stefanie Davis, a childfree couple from Alameda, California, bought long-term care insurance in their 30s to help guard against financial hardship as they age. Ian Bates Facebook

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No one wants to be a burden when they retire, but many aging parents at least have the safety net of children they can turn to for support if needed.

Among 55-year-old Americans, nearly 1 in 4 believe they will need financial help from family as they age, and more than 1 in 5 expect to need housing support, according to Prudential’s 2024

But for a growing number of older Americans, that’s not an option. Twenty-three percent of adults in their 50s and 22 percent of those in their 60s have never had children, a July 2024 Pew

Research Center analysis of federal data found. Those numbers are likely to rise: According to the same study, the share of childless people ages 18 to 49 who say they are likely to stay

that way increased from 37 percent in 2018 to 47 percent in 2023.

“It’s becoming increasingly common for younger generations to elect not to have children,” says Emily Irwin, head of the advice center at Wells Fargo. Common enough to spawn a distinct term:

“childfree,” meaning childless by choice (as opposed to childless by circumstance).

Financial advisers warn that even if you have kids, there’s no guarantee they will be able, or willing, to support you in retirement. The safest way to approach retirement is to plan as if

you’ll be on your own. Here are some things to do if you don’t have children to fall back on.

No two people (or couples) have the same retirement planning journey. Still, there are some common pathways for parents, such as designating one or more of their kids to see to health and

money matters if they experience physical disability or cognitive decline.

“The big challenge for childfree people is who makes the decisions for us when we can’t,” says Jay Zigmont, a certified financial planner in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, and author of The

Childfree Guide to Life and Money.

“I’ll use my wife and I as an example,” says Zigmont, who is childfree. “If we get in a car crash, who’s going to make our medical decisions? Who’s going to make our financial decisions? …

That’s stuff that a next of kin would normally do.”

Think about who among your extended family or close friends might be able to serve as your power of attorney or health care proxy. Look for someone your age or younger, in relatively good

health and, ideally, living nearby.

“Childfree people tend to have really strong bonds with their nieces and nephews, and in many cases, it’s the nieces and nephews who step up as caregivers,” says Joy Loverde, author of Who

Will Take Care of Me When I’m Old? She suggests helping nieces and nephews financially as parents might do for their children. “It’s this kind of thinking that creates a strong bond.”

You might also consider engaging an aging life care professional, Loverde says. These providers, sometimes called geriatric care managers, can help clients address health, financial and

housing concerns and access caregiving and other services.