81% of professionals say that they will have to support their children financially well into adulthood according to new research by Wesleyan Assurance Society.

The specialist financial services provider also found that 80% of professionals expected to provide more financial support for their children after the age of 21 than they had received from their own parents.

Debts after university and rising house prices were cited as two of the most common reasons why parents had to provide their adult children with increased support.

Samantha Porter, Wesleyan’s sales and marketing director, said: “There is no doubt that life is tough for this generation of young adults. They are leaving university with significant debt and have to raise a much larger deposit on their first home compared to their parents.

“However, it’s also tough on parents as they find themselves supporting their children for much longer than they may have expected. They are also facing financial challenges themselves with changes to pensions and an increased cost of living.

“It’s important that people put in place a savings plan as early as they can to support both themselves and their children. We help our customers identify their savings needs and plan appropriately for each individual need area.”

The research also showed professionals don’t think a lack of financial awareness among their children is a factor in the increased support, as 63% said their children were more savvy with money than they were at the same age.

Parents won’t just be writing cheques for their children once they reach adulthood. When asked how they thought they would end up supporting their children, top of the list was letting children live at home rent free, even after they had found a job (71%). This was followed by financing post graduate studies (69%), helping to fund a deposit on a house (67%), buying a first car (65%), and contributing to the cost of a wedding (64%).

Almost a third of parents (30%) said their financial support could end up being more than £20,000 with the average standing at £13,377.