‘Silver savers’ put away £1k a year for grandchildren
‘Silver savers' put away just over £1k a year for their grandchildren; according to new research by C&G Savings. As a result, many grandchildren could be handed nest eggs of up to £20k by their grandparents at some stage during their life.
£20k nest egg
With yearly contributions hitting £1,094 and 27% of ‘silver savers' getting into the savings habit as soon as a grandchild is born, many grandchildren could receive nest eggs of up to £20k (£19,692) when they reach 18 years of age.
The ‘silver saver' phenomenon
One third of grandparents (33%) are currently saving for their grandchildren. The ‘silver saver' phenomenon increases as grandparents get older and is highest amongst those aged over 65 (37%)..
The ‘silver scrooges'
Two-thirds of grandparents do not save money for their grandchildren (67%). Of these, many felt that they did not have the financial means (54%) to do so and some also believed that they contributed in other ways to the family (48%).
13% stated that they believed it was a parent's job to save for a child's future and one in ten (12%) had actually never considered saving for their grandchildren.
Helping with large costs that come up in life
More than half of grandparents (55%) save money in order to help their grandchildren with large costs that come up in life. Half of these (45%) would consider this to be an educational need, such as going to university or college.
However, one-fifth of these (19%) would leave the decision regarding what to spend the money on to their grandchild. 14% would let parents decide what to spend the money on and 13% would give it to a grandchild to help with buying property.
To be a part of a grandchild's life
A key motive for saving the money amongst just under half (47%) the ‘silver savers' was the desire to be part of a grandchild's life, after they have gone, whereas two-fifths save to try to get their grandchildren involved in saving and to help demonstrate the benefits of saving (38%).
One third (31%) save in order to be involved in decisions when their grandchild is older and another third (31%) to help to educate them in financial matters.
The ‘silver saver' savings habit
Two-fifths of ‘silver savers' (42%) save monthly for their grandchildren, one-fifth (21%) when they have spare money, 11% annually and 10% every few months.
Emma Hunter, head of savings products at C&G, said: "It is very encouraging to see grandparents saving for their grandchildren.
This not only provides a good nest egg for many children as they embark upon their adult life, but also demonstrates to the children the benefits of established savings habits."