Some Canadian grandparents supporting kids are risking their own retirement
Nearly one in three Canadian grandparents providing financial support to younger generations are possibly risking their own retirement, new polling released Wednesday by Royal Bank of Canada suggests.
The “grandparents edition” of RBC’s 2024 Family Finances Poll shows that 21 per cent of those surveyed are supporting at least one adult child financially, while 30 per cent have provided money to their grandkids.
The survey is based on online polling data from April 4 to 10 among 1,508 members of the Angus Reid Forum aged 55 and older. For comparison, a similar sample size would have a margin of error of ± 2.5 percentage points at a 95 per cent confidence level, the report said.
Among those providing support to their kids and their kids’ kids, a majority of respondents (54 per cent) said they are sacrificing their own savings to provide assistance. Some 52 per cent said they have made or would need to make “significant lifestyle changes” to keep up their support.
Some 33 per cent said they’re worried they’ll run out of money themselves trying to cover the costs of their family.
The RBC report said that only one in five respondents have considered how their financial support would impact their own retirement plans.
In terms of what older Canadians are covering, 70 per cent said their adult children are asking for help with necessary costs like food and clothing. More than half (54 per cent) are providing that money on a monthly basis.
For grandchildren, support is primarily for education expenses (39 per cent) followed by everyday living costs (30 per cent).
“While it’s not unusual for grandparents to provide financial assistance to younger generations, the dramatic difference today is this support has become a necessity,
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