Study: How many parents still cover costs for their adult children?

BISMARCK, N.D. (KXNET) — In some cases, people shy away from the idea of having adult children remain with their parents — but when one looks at the constantly rising costs of living and inflation, it’s easy to see why many families end up living together as the years pass.

Stagnating wages, growing wealth gaps, and expensive housing mean that the dream of home ownership, to many, is not one that will become a reality any time soon. These many factors culminate in the unfortunate truth that the parents of many adults need to assist their kids — whether by allowing them to remain living with the family or in other ways.

To determine just how many parents still offer support to their adult children in modern times, Savings.com surveyed 1,000 Americans with at least one grown child, and asked if they provide financial support, how much, and if it’s affecting their ability to save for retirement.

According to the study’s findings, 51% of parents surveyed have admitted to financially supporting an adult child (45% excluding those with a disability). Of the ages of these children, those between the ages of 20 and 24 easily receive the most financial aid.

In addition to this information, it was noted that about 34% of the parents who continue to support their children are currently retired. Parents further from retiring, as a whole, are generally more likely to support their adult kids.

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The topic of providing financial support in itself if one that’s ripe for variation — after all, there’s plenty of difference between a parent sending a check to celebrate the holidays and fully covering expenses for the child. Even though many may not directly house their kids, the study noted that only 19% of parents stated that they wouldn’t be willing to do anything to support them. On average, parents who support an adult child have been seen to provide them with an average of $1,442 every month. Here’s a list of the different categories of expenses and the percentage of parents who still aid their children with paying them.

In general, it was also noted that Millennials tend to contribute more to their household expenses when living with their parents as well — a monthly average of $258 as opposed to the $159 that Gen Zers contribute.

So deep is parents’ desires to support the younger generations that they would even sacrifice aspects of their own life and financial well-being to ensure that their kids are supported — and while these parents are indeed more likely to feel stressed out, a majority are still willing to send funds towards benefiting their adult children.

While the tendency to support adult children may at times hinder a parent’s own financial status, it would seem that there are still ways for them to both support their children and maintain their own financial status. According to the study, almost half of the surveyed individuals claim they’ll stop providing support in the next few years — which will allow both children to gain full independence and provide the parents with plenty of leftover finances to enjoy their retirement to its fullest.

To view the full study, including additional data, visit this page on Savings.com’s website.