A charming old book called “How to Finance Home Life,” written by Elwood Lloyd IV, apparently a sort of Suze Orman of his day, offers a contemporary account.

Lloyd’s book came out in 1927, two years before the stock market crash and well before the Great Depression. Even so, he provides a pretty grim depiction of what life was like for men and women who had “passed the age of production,” as he politely puts it. Among his scariest statistics: “85 per cent. of all persons beyond the age of 65 years are dependent upon friends, relatives or charity.”

In fact, Lloyd bases much of his plea for financial prudence on avoiding the fate of that unfortunate 85 percent, particularly those who had to move in with their kids.

“And —this is a statement which cannot be made too forcibly,” he writes, “—parents are entitled to homes of their own during the later years. They are entited to homes of happiness, and homes of happiness cannot be found where domicile is established under the roof of another family. No son or daughter, regardless of how kind or generous that son or daughter may be, can give to the parent the same happiness in the child’s home as would be found in a little cot of its own.” (You have to hope that Elwood Lloyd IV never had to impose on Elwood Lloyd V or VI.)

Many things have happened since those days to reduce the poverty that was once almost universal among older Americans. Not the least of them, certainly, was the introduction of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965.

So if the idea of having grown kids move back in with you during or soon before your retirement isn't a totally happy prospect, remember: It could be worse. And, not all that long ago, it usually was.

—Greg Daugherty