UK parents have saved £4,001 on average for each of their children, according to a new study from financial services review website Smart Money People and its sister website, Be Clever With Your Cash. Parents have typically saved £6,251 for themselves, which for nearly half (47%) is their rainy day or emergency savings fund. With many families having more than one child, this could mean that the total value of children’s savings pots within some families is bigger than parents’ own rainy day funds.
Those who are actively saving for their children may potentially end up stashing away £13,500 by the time their offspring reaches 18, the research indicates. Parents are putting away £750 each year for their kids on average. When it comes to who’s in charge of savings pots, mums are more likely to say they set up an account for their child than dads, the research found.
However, only one in five (20%) parents are planning to look for a new children’s savings provider during this tax year as a quarter (25%) admit to being confused by the product choices currently on the market. Furthermore, nearly a third of parents (28%) admit they find the process of moving financial products stressful, adding to their already busy admin lists. The Bank of England base rate was left on hold in June, but with Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation having slowed to its 2% target in May, commentators have suggested that a rate cut is on the horizon.
Andy Webb, a money expert at Be Clever W.