Half of American Parents Continue to Financially Support Their Adult Children: Poll

Fifty-one percent of parents still financially support an adult child, as revealed by a personal finance site Savings.com poll. Six percent of these parents support adult children with disabilities, while 45 percent support at least one of their normal adult children.

These parents provide an average of $1,442 monthly for their children's necessities and expenses like food and housing. More than three out of four parents help with the groceries, while 63 percent pay their children's cell phone bills. Fifty-six percent assist in paying house rent or mortgage, averaging $800 per month.

More so, almost 40 percent of parents continually support their kids in paying the tuition fees, while 21 percent are helping to pay off student loan repayments, contributing an average of $245 every month to help relieve the debt.

The Poll result is not surprising

The poll also found that the parents who contribute the most to their kids are those ten years and below from retirement. They contribute an average of $2,100 monthly, with only $643 placed into their retirement accounts every month.

Thirty-three percent of retired parents support their grown children financially, which has been more challenging for this group of parents on a fixed income.

According to Beth Klongpayabal, Analytics Manager of Savings.com, it is unsurprising that this is the situation for half of the American families with adult children.

"Leaving the nest seems to get harder and harder every year - and it's not hard to understand why. Inflation continues to put pressure on consumers, while wages have stagnated. Student debts are rising without relief, and so are housing prices. The growing generational wealth gap means that for millions of Millennials and Gen-Z'ers, true financial independence is still out of grasp," Klongpayabal wrote in their published data.

Sociologist at Northwestern University Christine Percheski expressed that adults in this generation, especially the young ones, are in a "much more bleak" situation than some previous generations. Their college expenses are not covered as much as the earlier generations, and they are facing a "tough housing market that is not of their making."

However, many parents, as The Hill reported, see supporting their children into adulthood as the essence of parenting, especially since they understand how difficult it is to deal with entry-level wages, lingering student debts, and unpredictable housing costs in their 20s.

Percheski agreed, stressing that parents' financial support can help set young adults up for a much more successful adulthood.

Read More: More Adult Children Now Chooses To Live With Their Parents, Parents Not Pleased

Most of the children plan to stop parental aid within two years

Most of the kids receiving parental provision were between 18 and 24, which coincided with the college years and the transition from school to a full-time job. However, 33 percent were 25 and above, and 10 percent were 35 years old or older.

This is already the second survey done by Savings.com, and both have received the same results, except that parents have been discovered to be spending more on adult children this year than in 2022. The poll was conducted with over a thousand parents with adult children.

It is actually in line with the survey done by Chartway Credit Union released last February, according to the Talker. It showed that 35 percent of adults admitted to having at least one bill paid by their parents, with rent, groceries, and utilities as the top three expenses being shouldered or assisted with.

Of 2,000 American adults polled, 24 percent of millennials stated that their parents still cover their rent.

Seventy-two percent plan to end parental aid within the next two years, 30 percent will go with the flow until told otherwise, and 31 percent are saving money while their parents can still help them financially.

Related article: Adult Children of Separated Families Receive Less Financial and Emotional Support