A third of Lithuanian residents rely on support from their parents

Parents help more than a third of Lithuania’s residents make ends meet, and nearly one in ten get financial support from their parents. Most reliant on their parents’ financial support are people aged 18-25 and those still in school or at university, as well as unmarried persons and those with an incomplete secondary education. At the same time, the youngest adult residents, who benefit most from such support, also stand out among other age groups as those who least plan their expenditures. These trends were revealed by a survey of Lithuanian residents’ investment and saving habits commissioned by INVL Asset Management, one of the country’s leading asset management companies.

Asked whether their parents help them get by, 35.4 per cent of respondents answered positively. That includes 9.2 per cent who receive financial support from their parents, 11.8 per cent who get other forms of material assistance, and 14.4 per cent who reported getting other types of help.

The largest proportion of those who get financial assistance from their parents are aged 18-25 (34.9 per cent). And while people in Lithuania mostly think one should start to be financially independent from one’s parents from the age of 24, the reality is somewhat different. One in ten people aged 26-35 (10.5 per cent) also get financial help from their parents. As respondents’ ages increase, the ranks of those getting financial support from their parents decrease.

“It’s interesting that over a quarter of residents aged 18-25, those who most often rely on parents’ financial support, only plan large expenditures, while another quarter of them don’t plan their expenses at all. People should start planning expenditures based on needs and financial goals as early as possible – over time that lets them lay firmer financial foundations and set aside funds for bigger purchases or long-term needs and accumulate more assets for old age,” notes Dr Dalia Kolmatsui, who heads the Pension Funds & Retail Department at INVL Asset Management.

Among recipients of parents’ financial support, most are at university or in school (55.1 per cent), while some are unemployed (15.3 per cent) or small business owners (7.9 per cent). Those who haven’t started a family get such financial help much more often than people who are married or living in a non-formalised marriage (25.6 per cent compared with 4.3 per cent).

Interesting enough, it’s not just those with the lowest monthly household income, up to 200 euros per person, who get help from their parents (15 per cent do). While these people are more often financially supported by their parents than those with higher income, still, residents with monthly household income of 301-500 euros per person also rely on parental support: 8 per cent of them said they get financial assistance, 15.3 per cent get other material help, and 17.7 per cent get support of other types. In the highest household income group (over 500 euros per person), people most often said they receive not financial or material help, but other types of parental assistance (19.4 per cent).

Financial support from parents is also linked to education. People with an incomplete secondary education are supported more frequently than those who studied at a higher education institution or completed a secondary or vocational school. Among those who haven’t completed secondary school, 15.7 per cent rely on parents’ financial support, compared with 9.2 per cent of people with a complete secondary education and 7.1 per cent of those with a higher education.

People living in rural areas also tend to get parental support less often. Among residents of rural areas, 66.8 per cent say they don’t receive assistance from their parents. In comparison, parents provide help in getting by to 60.9 per cent of people living in major cities and 59.1 per cent of those in other cities and regional hubs.

The representative survey of investment and saving habits was conducted on behalf of INVL Asset Management by the research company Spinter Tyrimai, which interviewed 1,011 Lithuanian residents aged 18-75 in February this year.

INVL Asset Management manages eight pension funds and five mutual funds as well as investment portfolios and private equity assets. It is part of Invalda INVL, one of the Baltic region’s leading asset management groups. Companies in the group manage pension and mutual funds, alternative investments, individual portfolios, private equity and other financial instruments. They’ve been entrusted with over 400 million euros of assets by more than 170,000 clients in Lithuania and Latvia as well as international investors.