London - Grown-up children who are still in their family home are living the ‘life of Riley’ while unknowingly pushing their parents into debt, research shows.
The so-called “boomerang generation” are placing their parents under serious financial pressure by living at home even in their twenties and thirties.
Debt organisations have warned that parents should not be afraid to ask their children for rent and money towards household bills amid fears a “stiff upper lip” makes them reluctant to admit when they need help.
Experts claim grown-up children still living at home are often completely unaware that they are forcing their parents further into debt.
Research revealed that as many as three-quarters of parents whose children are over 18 still have at least one child living with them.
But only 42 percent charge their children rent – with many admitting they feel too guilty and uncomfortable to ask.
And even if they manage to ask their offspring to contribute, most charge them just £150 (about R3 000) a month, compared with a typical UK rent of £750. On top of this, 80 percent still buy their adult child’s groceries, and 60 percent cook dinner for them each night, according to the study by website TopCashBack.
Parents expressed concern that their children could not afford to move out or were struggling to save for a house deposit. But the survey found the average salary of a grown-up child living at home is £26 000, and has a comfortable £1 000 in disposable income each month.
Half of parents who did charge rent said they relied on that money to cover living expenses such as groceries and utility bills.
In fact, a second study revealed that many debt-ridden parents are falling into deeper financial trouble because of their stay-at-home children.
According to debt management specialist PayPlan, a third of parents in debt who have grown-up children living at home have been forced to take out a loan to meet the costs of housing and feeding them.
But half of these parents say they still refuse to ask their kids to contribute to the household pot.
Jane Clack, of PayPlan, said: “In this country we are renowned for a stiff upper lip, but the truth is that many parents are under emotional strain as a result of their debts.”
Daily Mail