Debtors helped by grandparents

Adults in the UK are increasingly turning to their parents in an effort to cut costs related to their offspring, it has emerged.

According to Rias – an insurance provider for those over 50 – many Britons are reducing their childcare expenditure by asking grandparents to look after their young ones, a decision that is saving parents more than £5 billion each year in total.

This may be because families are increasingly worried about falling into debt during the recession and 14 per cent of grandparents have reported that the amount they are taking care of their grandchildren has increased in the last year.

Individually, families are saving up to £860 per annum thanks to grandparents and managing director of Rias Janet Connor noted that the study shows how much these people contribute to daily life.

“We know that so many families depend on them,” she said.

And money worries also appear to affect people’s decisions to start families at all. Recent research from NS&I revealed that 64 per cent believe that financial security is a must before having children.