• Scottish Widows Savings and Investments report reveals that 68% of parents with children under 16 believe that the recession has affected the way they think about their financial role as a parent

• Since the economic downturn, 12% have been saving more for their children

The fourth annual Scottish Widows Savings and Investments1 report reveals a new generation of worried parents has emerged. A quarter of parents (25%) with children under 16 believe the recession has affected their financial role as a parent a lot and are worried about how they will support their kids in the future. A further 20% believe their kids are going to need to put a lot more aside than they did when they were their children’s age, and 14% of parents believe their children will need more financial support because of the effects of the recession.

This worry has resulted in some parents saving more for their children. Since the economic downturn, 12% have been saving more for their children, with almost half of these parents (47%) doing so because they think things will be harder for them when they grow up thanks to the lack of job opportunities and the growing levels of unemployment. Almost a fifth (19%) think they will need to provide more for their children when they grow up as credit will be harder to get.

Not all parents are able to put more cash away though; 18% have actually started saving less for their children since the recession started. Half of this 18% of parents simply have less money to put aside for their children’s future, and 16% can only focus on getting by day to day at the moment.

Iain McGowan, savings expert at Scottish Widows comments: “Unfortunately the effects of the recession have led parents to become increasingly worried about how they help their children financially. Parents are aware that their changing lifestyles and the economic environment mean they will not be able to provide as much as they hoped to support their children’s futures. The future of savings for these families is looking bleak, yet well over half (60%) of parents want to be able to leave an inheritance for their children/grandchildren. This means that parents will need to plan their finances more carefully so they can save for their own futures as well as being able to support their children now and into adulthood.”