Royal London has stated that 34% of people say they have not and do not intend to offer financial support to children and grandchildren to help them get on the property ladder.
In a poll of 2,100 people carried out for Royal London people living in the East Midlands were least likely to offer support with 40% of respondents saying they had not, and did not intend to, offer financial assistance.
They were followed by respondents in the North East where 39% of respondents said they did not intend/could not to offer this support. In the North West 37% of respondents gave this response as did 35% of parents/grandparents in Yorks and Humber, West Midlands and East of England.
Despite this a sizeable proportion of parents are still willing and able to provide assistance to cash strapped family members. Overall parents in London were most likely to want or be able to help their offspring with 39% saying they either had or intend to help their children with a property purchase.
They were followed by respondents in the South West and Yorks and Humber where 33% of respondents said they either had or intended to provide this support.
Of those who said they had, or planned to provide assistance, 37% of respondents said they expected the amount provided to be less than £10,000. A further 28% said they had, or expected to provide somewhere between £10,000 and £20,000 to family members.
11% of those who had or planned to provide financial assistance said they had or expected to provide in excess of £50,000 to children and grandchildren.
In terms of the conditions under which the money is handed over, 57% said the money should be seen as a gift that doesn’t need to be paid while a further 27% of respondents said the money should be seen as an advance on inheritance. Only 15% said they expected the money to be repaid.
Helen Morrissey, Royal London’s personal finance spokesperson, said: “The rising phenomenon of the Bank of Mum and Dad has received much publicity but the findings make clear that not all parents have, or are willing, to offer financial support to children.
“There are several reasons for this. House prices in areas such as the North West and East Midlands are much lower than in areas such as London so it may be the case that parents and grandparents feel their family members do not need their support as much as in other areas of the UK.
“It may also be the case that these people have other demands on their money and cannot simply hand it over. Anyone looking to hand over money to help a loved one needs to ensure they take their own future needs into account before doing so as they do not want to leave themselves short of money at a later date.”
