According to research from Engage Mutual Assurance, a savings and investments firm, 43% of UK parents aged 55 to 64 are still supporting their children and do not expect to be relieved from this financial burden until the age of 67. However, young parents do not realize the cost of parenting and many anticipate financial freedom by the time they turn 50.
As part of its ‘3 Generation Britain’ campaign, Engage Mutual Assurance asked a representative sample of 2,298 parents when they expected to be able to afford common life-stage goals, such as buying a second home, and when they expected to stop supporting their children financially.
The research, which was carried out by YouGov, revealed that 46% of parents with children over the age of 25 are still supporting them financially, and the average British parent anticipates providing financial support to their children until the age of 59.
The findings also showed that parents in the West Country expect to be bankrolling their offspring for the longest, anticipating reaching the age of 65 before cutting the purse strings, compared to parents in Lancashire, who expect not to support their children past 57.
This research shows that the expectations of younger parents are not always realistic. In reality it is likely that they will continue to support their kids financially for longer than they anticipate. It is therefore essential that parents of younger children lay down plans to save little and often in order to ensure that their child’s needs don’t affect their future independence, reported Engage Mutual Assurance.