Almost Half Of American Parents Still Pay Their Adult Kid's Bills
Adult children are also living at home longer.
The pandemic caused a huge spike in young adults returning home to the nest. In fact, a 2022 survey found that 67% of kids who moved back in with mom and dad are still hanging at home.
With inflation only getting worse, rising housing costs, high interest rates, and an overall unstable economy, it’s no wonder that adult kids are leaning on their parents for some support.
Turns out, it’s not just a roof over their head that adult children are hoping to get from dear old mom and dad.
According to a new poll, nearly half of American parents supporting their adult kids financially, including paying for bills and housing costs.
The poll found that 45% of parents are supporting at least one adult child and shelling out $1,442 a month on average to help keep their kids afloat.
Of that 45% of parents who pay bills, most are covering smaller expenses like groceries or adding them to their family cellphone plans, according to a poll by Savings.com.
However, of that 45% of parents lending their kids some cash, about half pay a child’s mortgage or rent, which is an a monthly expense that averages more than $800.
The poll — which surveyed around 1,000 parents in February 2023 — also found that most of the children receiving parental aid were between the ages of 18 and 24 years — an age range that parallels with those “boomerang” years most kids take between college and the transition to full-time work.
Seemingly never-ending inflation, low salaries, surging housing costs, and looming student loan debt have all contributed to this trend.
“The situation for young adults today is much more bleak than for some previous generations,” said Christine Percheski, a sociologist at Northwestern University told The Hill.
“We are not covering as much of the cost for college as we did for previous generations. And young adults are facing a tough housing market that is not of their making.”
Even when postgrads end up landing a job, many salaries are not compensating enough to pay for housing costs.
“With inflation as high as it is and with rates rising, it can be difficult for anyone to make ends meet in today’s economy,” said Jacob Channel, senior economist at Lending Tree.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average student with a Bachelor’s degree in 2022 is averaging a salary of $59,600.
If that student wanted to live in a major US city where they would more likely be able to find a well-paying job, meet friends and begin a new chapter of life, such as Austin, Texas, a one-bedroom apartment would cost them a cool $2,245 a month.
That’s almost half of a month’s paycheck for just rent.
While lending a hand to struggling adult children is nothing to balk at, some experts say that financially supporting adult children could really hurt in the long run, especially parents who have not budgeted for their retirement.
“You have to kind of take care of yourself. Your kids have years and years to get their financial footing,” Jim Kinney, a certified financial planner, told The Hill.
“If you’ve got a retirement plan, and you’re golden, and you want to help your kids buy a first house, then good, and God bless,” he said.
