Nearly half of parents with adult children continue to support them financially, spending an average of $1,442 a month, according to a new study from Savings.com.
04/26/2023 12:30 P.M.
3 minute read
A new study from Savings.com has found that nearly half of parents (45%) with adult children still provide financial support to at least one adult offspring, spending an average of $1,442 a month, according to an article from The Hill.
The study also found that these parents are most likely to cover “relatively modest expenses” such as groceries and cellphone plans; however, more than half pay for their child’s mortgage or rent, which averages $800 a month.
The majority of adult children getting parental support were between the ages of 18 and 24. However, more than one-third were aged 25 or older and 1 in 10 was 35 or older.
“There’s just a lot of pressure on younger adults, and they might still be reaching out to their parents for support,” said Corie Wagner, senior editor of industry research at Savings.com.
The survey, which was started during the COVID-19 pandemic, is in its second year. The results of the 2022 and 2023 surveys were comparable, despite the fact that parents now appear to be spending more on their adult children than they were a year ago. Approximately 1,000 parents of adult children participated in each poll.
“The situation for young adults today is much more bleak than for some previous generations,” said Christine Percheski, a sociologist at Northwestern University. “We are not covering as much of the cost for college as we did for previous generations. And young adults are facing a tough housing market that is not of their making.”
More than half of American adults between the ages of 18 and 24 now reside with their parents, although older adults are less likely to do so. Nineteen percent of men and 12% of women in the 25-34 age group were living with their parents as of the previous year.
According to the latest Savings.com study, the majority of adult children who received financial support from their parents lived in their parental home, and fewer than half of them offered assistance with household expenses.
While this kind of support may help set up adult children for future financial success, three-quarters of the surveyed parents reported stress about their ability to live comfortably in retirement.
On average, working parents in the survey reported saving $635 in monthly retirement contributions, far less than they spent on their adult children.
The results of the Savings.com survey corroborate those of a number of other surveys that examined the changing financial ties between young adults and their parents.
In a recent survey, two-fifths of millennials said that one or more of their monthly payments are still paid by their parents, and about a quarter of millennials claimed that their parents pay their rent each month.
According to a survey by Credit Karma, 31% of parents provide financial support to their adult children, either by letting them live in the house or by paying some or all of their bills.
“Is the economic support that you’re providing your child helping position them for a better future?” Percheski asked. “Or is it enabling them to delay taking on adult responsibility?”
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