Parents risk their financial security as pressure increases on the Bank of Mum and Dad

13th August 2022

The information contained in this press release is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.

Parents expect to provide significant financial support to their grown-up children (18 years plus) over the next two years, to help with childcare, bills and university costs
One in three say they can’t afford to help their children but will do so anyway
Parents plan to cut back on spending, dip into their savings or take out new credit cards

Parents are offering financial support to their adult children at the expense of their own lifestyle and security, as the rising cost of living puts new pressure on the Bank of Mum and Dad, according to new research from TSB¹.

Over a third (36%) of parents are currently helping their adult children with their finances. A further 15% do not currently provide financial support but expect to do so in the near future as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.

Over the next two years, nearly a third of parents (31%) say they will provide financial support for childcare, while over a fifth (21%) say they will cover bills and other household expenses - an average of £870 each. Nearly one in 10 (8%) say they will help with a house deposit, and almost one in 20 (4%) will contribute to paying off debts.

Of those who are providing financial support to their children, over half (51%) say their grown-up children wouldn’t be able to meet payments or afford these expenses without their help.

Separate TSB research shows that a quarter of people² aged between 18-24 (24%) and 25-34 (23%) have decreased the amount they are putting aside for a rainy day as the rising cost of living makes saving more difficult.

Parents cut back on luxuries and take on new debt to help adult children

However, the rising cost of living is affecting many parents at the same time. Just a third (33%) of those aged 66-75 and a fifth (21%) of those aged 55-65 say they are very confident that their household will have enough money to support themselves over the next twelve months.

In fact, the research shows that of those who are helping their children financially, more than half (55%) say it will be difficult to do so, while one in three (31%) say they can’t afford it but will do it anyway.

For those finding it difficult to provide financial support, many are making sacrifices or risking their own financial stability. Almost two thirds (61%) will cut back on their own spending, while almost four in 10 (38%) will forgo luxuries. Concerningly, around one in 10 will rely on credit cards (9%) or go into overdrafts (8%).

TSB also found that a quarter of parents (23%) wouldn’t tell their children if they couldn’t afford to offer them support, while more than one in 10 would be embarrassed (14%) or ashamed (13%) if they were unable to do so.

Carol Anderson, Director, Branch Banking of TSB said:

“It’s clear that the impact of the rising cost-of-living is becoming more widespread.
“For those looking to offer financial support to their children, make sure you have open and transparent conversations as a family and get advice from someone like your bank or Citizens Advice if you need support.”

Tips from Carol Anderson

Have an open discussion with your children if you are considering providing support.
Get a good understanding of what their needs are and how you can best support them.
Discuss with them what steps they can take to manage their money.
Work out a plan and be clear about the extent to which you can help – and whether or not it’s a gift.
If it’s going to have a financial impact on you, consider discussing it with somebody you trust. We’ve seen TSB customers coming to us for support and we’re holding around 5,000 customer meetings every week to help customers manage their money and feel more confident about their plans.

Media Contacts

Rochelle D’Cruz | Media Relations Manager, TSB
T: 07483 940 420 | rochelle.d'cruz@tsb.co.uk

Notes to editors

¹ Research of 2,003 adults with children aged 18+ carried out by Opinium between 6-12 July 2022.

² Research of 5,812 adults carried out by IPSOS MORI between 3-7 June 2022.

Table 1: Financial support on offer by the Bank of Mum and Dad over the next two years

Type of financial support	Percentage of parents who expect to provide support over the next two years	Average expected amount of financial support provided over next two years
Childcare (for your grandchildren)	31%	£4,273
Cover for bills and other household expenses	21%	£870
University / Education / training costs	10%	£6,511
House deposit	8%	£1,200
Driving lessons	7%	£2,146
Wedding	5%	£2,641
Help paying off mortgage payments or rent	5%	£530
Help paying off debt (not mortgage)	4%	£1,439

Source: TSB, Opinium research among 2,003 UK adults with children aged 18+

Table 2: How struggling parents will fund financial support for their adult children

Cutting back on my own spending	61%
Dipping into my savings	58%
Forgoing luxuries	38%
Cashing in investments	9%
Using a credit card	9%
Going into my overdraft	8%
Taking out a loan	5%

Source: TSB, Opinium research among 2,003 UK adults with children aged 18+

TSB has set out the ways that it is helping customers with the rising cost of living:

	*Challenge*	*How we’re helping*
1	Access to tools and support to help customers make the most of their money.	Our Money Confidence Experts are here to help – you can chat to us at a time that suits you – by video call, over the phone, online, in branch or at our pop-up banking hubs. Our Spend and Save account helps you stay in control of your money and save through the Savings Pots and Auto Balancer features. TSB Marketplace offers a wide set of tools to help you feel confident with your money. For example: Wealthify makes investing easy and affordable; ApTap helps provide a smarter way to manage your bills; and Farewill helps making a will simpler and more cost-effective. To help you buy your home in this fast-moving market, we’ll support you with a mortgage appointment via video, phone or face-to-face at a time that suits you – including evenings and weekends.
2	Helping customers know where to turn for support.	We offer a range of borrowing options to help you with spending and paying off debt. Our arranged overdrafts can help you to cope with unexpected circumstances and our personal loans can help smooth the cost of larger purchased over time. We also offer interest free credit card balance transfers. Our Money Worries page guides you to support – from day-to-day money tips, through to managing life’s bigger challenges. If you’re struggling with debt, we’ll always look at the best options to help you – be it breathing room with a repayment holiday or combining your debts into a single, more cost-effective option. If you’re in a vulnerable situation you can speak to us on our direct line for vulnerable customers and we’ll tailor our support to your personal needs, whatever they may be.
3	Protecting customers from the added cost of being a victim of fraud.	Fraud is the UK’s number one crime, and most of it is taking place on social media and online search platforms. We’ll continue to call for more cross-sector action to tackle the root causes of fraud to protect our customers. We’re the only bank in Britain to offer a Fraud Refund Guarantee – so if you’re clearly an innocent victim of fraud on your TSB account, we will refund you the money you lost from your account. Our reimbursement rate is 97%, compared to the 42% industry average. And to help you feel more confident about spotting scammers, you can pop into our local fraud workshops and digital fitness classes in branches across the UK.
4	Making sure businesses get paid quickly.	We’re a member of the Prompt Payment Code and pay 96% of our small and medium-sized suppliers within seven days. We’ll continue to work with the Small Business Commissioner to encourage more big businesses to step up. We’re providing all our Business Current Account customers with access to Revenu – an app-based financial management tool which helps you to get paid more quickly.
5	Supporting the wider community with local Money Confidence challenges.	We know that 95% of victims of domestic abuse are also victims of economic abuse – that’s why all our branches are Safe Space for customers to seek help and support. We’re partnering with Citizens Advise in England to provide ‘Local Connections’ between local Citizens Advice Offices and TSB branches to help support the local Money Confidence needs of communities. We’re helping to educate the next generation about money through our Money Confidence workshops and will look to target these at places with the lowest Money Confidence and where we’re best placed to support.

The information contained in this press release is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.