75 per cent of dentists said they expected to provide more financial support to their children after the age of 21 than they had received from their own parents, a clear indication of changing social trends said Wesleyan Medical Sickness, the specialist financial services provider for the dental market.
The growing expense of attending university and the higher cost of living were cited as the two most common reasons why dentist parents had to provide their adult children with increased support.
Samantha Porter, Wesleyan’s sales and marketing director, said: “There is no doubt that life is tough for this generation of young adults. They are leaving university with significant debt and have to raise a much larger deposit on their first home compared to their parents.
“However it’s also tough on parents as they find themselves supporting their children for much longer than they may have expected. They are also facing financial challenges themselves with changes to pensions and an increased cost of living.
“It’s important that dentists put in place a savings plan as early as they can to support both themselves and their children. We help our customers identify their savings needs and plan appropriately for each individual need area.”
Increased Financial awareness
The research also showed dentists who are parents don’t think it is a lack of financial awareness among their children that is a factor in the increased support, as almost two thirds (65 per cent) said they thought their children were more savvy with money than they were at the same age.
Different ways to support their children
When asked how they thought they would end up supporting their children, top of the list for dentists was financing post graduate studies (73 per cent). This was followed by the cost of a wedding (72 per cent), helping to fund a deposit on a house (69 per cent), letting their child live at home rent free even after they had found a job (67 per cent), and contributing to the cost of a first car (66 per cent).
More than a third of dentists (36 per cent) said their financial support could end up being more than £20,000 with the average standing at £13,849.