Half of all workers use their wages to provide for others

ALMOST half of all workers have others financially dependent on their income for basic everyday living costs – with the average British salary supporting two people.

A report found that 29 per cent of people with dependants never expect to become financially dependent-free, and those who do expect to wait until they are 51 years old on average.

A further 4.5 million of them expect to have other people dependent on their income until they are at least 65.

While some people find their children are financially reliant on them, others have to look after their parents when they reach old age.

Mark Jones, head of protection at insurance firm LV who carried out the report, said: “People are feeling financially squeezed and pulled in many directions. Salaries are not rising in line with inflation, and with living costs on the rise as well as continued unemployment problems people are feeling the pressure of having others relying on their income, be that younger, or older family members.”

He said that previous research had shown that the cost of raising a child from birth to 21 years is in excess of £218,000.

“With young people struggling to find employment or save sufficient deposits to get on the housing ladder, the trend for children to be dependent on their parents’ incomes later into life, too, is no surprise,” he added.

One in seven people aged over 55 are still supporting a child financially with everyday basic living costs, while nearly a third of women in the UK depend on their partner for financial support, compared with just 6 per cent of men who rely on their partners.

Furthermore, one in five of those with dependants – totalling 6.2 million – feel their salary is being stretched, and a fifth say this pressure impacts on the money they can save for the future. Almost a fifth believe they will have to work for longer in life than they had hoped because of others relying on their salary.

A spokesman for Citizens Advice Scotland said: “Every week now we see reports like this indicating that people are really struggling financially. The CAB service is now dealing with more Money Advice cases than ever before, and our expert advice is helping lots of people cope. But the government can’t continue to ignore the fact that so many people are in financial crisis at the moment.”

Yvonne MacDermid, chief executive of Money Advice Scotland, said that families’ finances were becoming “increasingly intertwined” as generations help each other out.

“It just highlights where we are in the economy at the moment and the difficulties people have in sustaining financial independence,” she said. “Households across Scotland are feeling the pinch right now,” said a spokesman for the national Debtline.

“Many people will be cutting back quite heavily on what they spend this year, and others may turn to credit to bridge the gap.”