40% of parents raid savings to support their children

An exclusive national survey, carried out by YouGov on behalf of Brewin Dolphin, shows that the parents of today’s under 18s are planning to delay retirement, compromise their lifestyle and dip into their hard earned pension pots and home equity to help out their children and grandchildren.

35% of all parents believe that in their lifetime they will have to contribute between £25,000 and £100,000 per child in order to cover home deposits, university fees and other living expenses.

The pressure on families is far higher than it was even a few years ago, with 40% of parents of today’s under 18s believing that they will have to compromise their lifestyles because of the demands on their children, compared with just 26% of parents with children who have already reached adulthood.
 

Nick Fitzgerald, Head of Financial Planning at Brewin Dolphin, said:

“The Bank of Mum and Dad is facing its own financial crisis across the country. Our planners are finding increasing numbers of anxious clients facing demands from their children who cannot get on the property ladder or need financial help with other areas of their lives. The pressure is such that we’re also seeing the emergence of second generation funding from the ‘Bank of Grandma & Granddad’.”

“While many parents are willing to give, it is important that this is not done at the expense of their own retirement planning, particularly given the current uncertainty around annuities and income generation”, Fitzgerald adds. “People in their 30s and 40s now will generally not enjoy the pension pots their parents did, and this survey shows a worrying trend towards parents needing to choose between helping their children and sacrificing their retirement savings. It is important to take proper advice and consider the future before signing cheques to your kids, however well intentioned.”