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August 04, 2015 at 11:13 AM
Financially supporting an aging parent or an adult child is costing some Americans as much as $12,000 a year.
A new study from TD Ameritrade examines the struggle of financially supporting an adult family member, through its survey of 1,000 American adults, all who have financially supported a parent and/or adult child in the past 12 months.
According to TD Ameritrade’s Financial Support Survey, one in five Americans provide financial support to a parent and/or an adult child. And, on average, a survey respondent who has financially supported either an adult child or aging parent in the past year reports having spent $12,000 to do so.
The survey also uncovers who Americans spend more money on, in regards to financial support.
According to the survey, financial supporters are are almost twice as likely to be supporting a mother (42%) than a father (23%) – and mothers receive $5,000 more support.
On average, survey respondents report spending up to $13,750 on a mother and $8,500 on a father.
Meanwhile, respondents report spending on average $10,000 on an adult child.
When asked to hypothetically choose between financially supporting an aging parent in need or an adult child in need, an overwhelming majority chose the parent.
“If forced to choose, financial supporters would support a parent (83%) over an adult child (17%) – a warning call to those who have not yet flown the nest,” the study states.
