The ‘bank of mum and dad’ is a crucial source of welfare for people on low incomes, and those not able to access it are at greater risk of isolation and poverty, according to a new report from the Social Market Foundation think tank.
The report focuses on the prevalence and impact of familial welfare in low-income families, specifically the financial and practical assistance parents give to adult children. It draws in part on polling by ComRes – an online survey of 2,055 adults, boosted by computer-assisted telephone interviews with 510 people from low-income households. Polling took place in June-July 2013.
The report says that policy-makers should begin to focus on the inequalities that emerge between recipients and non-recipients of parental support – among low-income families in particular. The inequality between the socially networked and the socially isolated has been ignored for too long.
Source: Ryan Shorthouse, Family Fortunes: The Bank of Mum and Dad in Low Income Families, Social Market Foundation
Links: Report | SMF press release