I’ve realised there are two versions of adulthood in Britain. The first is the one where you pay your own rent, cover your own bills and watch every pound that leaves your bank account. The second comes with a regular transfer from Mum and Dad.
Among my generation, financial support from parents is remarkably common. Most of my property-owning friends were either given interest-free loans from their parents or received an inheritance from grandparents that covered all, or most, of their deposit. Others get help with car payments, phone bills or the unexpected expenses that crop up throughout adult life.
This financial privilege is looking to continue. New research shows that almost a quarter of Gen Z adults are not saving for retirement as they’re relying on inheritance from their parents.
In today’s economy, it’s hardly surprising. Rents are sparing, house prices stubbornly out of reach and a weekly food shop somehow costs twice what it did a few years ago. “It’s a lot harder for youngsters coming into the workforce to find a job so parents want to give them a helping hand. The amount that they might be helping is increasing because of those elements,” says Alex Pugh, a chartered financial planner at Saltus, whose recent data shows that 73 per cent of high net worth parents have provided financial support for their adult children over the past five years.
