Based on European National Transfer Accounts data from 2010, the paper quantifies and evaluates the balance of intergenerational transfer flows in 16 EU countries, including transfers in form of unpaid household work. On average, the value of net transfers received by a child amounts to sixteen times the labour income of a full-time worker, the net transfers received by an elderly person to six times the labour income of a full-time worker. Intergenerational transfers can be regarded as reciprocal exchange between two generations: the size of the transfers to the child generation determines their potential to generate income and finance public transfers to the elderly population once they enter employment. We develop and calculate an indicator to analyze if there is a balance between transfers to children and transfers expected by the elderly population. The results indicate that in most of the analyzed countries the human capital investments in children are by far too low to finance the generous transfers to the elderly population in the future.