Cash & kin
New Zealand Listener|July 23 - 29, 2022
Parents are increasingly dipping into their own savings to help their adult children with daily living costs. But that is only entrenching the wealth gap.
SARAH CATHERALL
Cash & kin

It wasn’t part of their plan a few years out from retirement, but a few months ago, Angela and Alexander O’Donnell walked into their bank and remort-gaged their family home. They felt they had no choice — their 39-year-old daughter, Natalie, was facing the prospect of losing her home in Kaiapoi and having to move her two children into a rental after her marriage broke up.

Natalie wanted to buy her ex out, but she couldn’t get a mortgage. So her parents mortgaged their own home instead, lending her the money they borrowed from the bank. “How could I enjoy my life when my daughter was struggling? I just couldn’t do that,’’ Angela says.

Angela, 60, and Alexander, 65, are part of an invisible yet incredibly popular institution known as “the Bank of Mum and Dad’’. As their off spring struggle to manage their daily living costs, more and more Kiwi parents are stepping in to help: paying bills, providing allowances, stumping up deposits, and in some cases, providing entire houses.

A recent Consumer NZ survey estimated that “the Bank of Mum and Dad’’ has doled out $22.6 billion in home loans in recent years, which, if true, would make it the fifth-largest financial lender in this country — more than TSB and Kiwibank combined.

The survey, which had a margin of error of almost 5%, suggested one in seven of all children who bought a house had support from their parents. The average contribution was $108,000.

In Auckland, 58% of parents who took part in the survey helped their children to buy a property, and the amounts they gave were $20,000 more than the national average. For one in 10 parents, their contribution put them under moderate to serious financial strain.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 23 - 29, 2022-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July 23 - 29, 2022-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS NEW ZEALAND LISTENERAlle anzeigen
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024