Yahoo Finance Parents fork out as much as £9,000 a year towards their children's university costs
Parents will be looking at handing over an average of almost £300 a month to their children attending university this coming academic year.
One in 10 mums and dads will dig even deeper to support their child’s studies, saying they will shell out the best part of £9,000 during the next few months – that’s about £750 a month.
A quarter of parents (23%) give studying children at least £5,000 per year (around £417 per month) to help cover all aspects of university life, including accommodation, living costs, fees, textbooks and travel.
MORE: Student money saving tips: Six ways you can financially prepare for university
Yet, one in five parents say they have major doubts about the benefits of attending university for their children – while the vast majority admit they cannot cover all the costs associated with seeing their offspring through higher education.
Insurer Aviva learned parents of university students typically give their children £3,446 per year (around £287 per month), to support them through their studies. This adds up to more than £10,000 on average over a three-year degree.
But, figures from Aviva’s summer 2016 Family Finances report suggested that those who recently joined higher education could find themselves with £44,000 of student debt when graduating.
MORE: Pensioners’ incomes are catching up with workers
Alongside this, Family Finance data also shows that the typical UK family has just £3,134 in savings.
Almost half of students had a job during term time, and similar proportion worked during holidays, even though most said having to work did have an impact on their studies.
Louise Colley, customer director for Aviva, said the fact that many men and women were leaving it to later in life to have children was storing up problems for the future.
“This means many parents could be facing the dual challenges of supporting children through university while preparing for retirement – and potentially caring for ageing parents, too,” she said.
Alistair McQueen, head of savings and retirement, added: “Covering all the costs for a child going to university can be a real challenge and it’s quite understandable that most parents aren’t funding all aspects of student life.
MORE: Free banking myth exposed as nine out of 10 current accounts charge customers
“That said, saving is a great habit to get into, and a parent who can afford to put aside an extra £112 a month – less than £4 a day – from the day their child is born to their 18th birthday, could generate £35,706 over this period, the equivalent of £25,000 now. This could be a huge financial lifeline for children starting higher education.”
A third of parents said their children had also received financial support from other family members or friends. Grandparents were the most likely contributors, with more than a quarter (27%) giving money to their studying grandchildren.
