Home Breadcrumb caret Industry News Breadcrumb caret Industry University costs delay parents’ retirement: survey Looking ahead, parents expect the negative impact to increase By Staff | May 13, 2019 | Last updated on May 13, 2019 2 min read © Dean Drobot 123RF Stock Photo Costs for post-secondary education are taking a toll on parents’ finances. A survey conducted for FP Canada found that 67% of Canadians with children over age 18 have helped their children with post-secondary costs, and doing so prevented one in five parents from paying off debt (20%) and forced 16% to postpone retirement. Looking ahead, the challenges of post-secondary education costs could affect more Canadians to a greater extent. The survey found that 82% of Canadians with children under 18 intend to assist their children with post-secondary costs, and nearly half (48%) expect providing this support will cause them to delay retirement — an increase from 41% in FP Canada’s 2017 survey. Similarly, many respondents (42%) said they expect education costs will prevent them from paying off debt, up from 40% in 2017. Education costs could be exacerbated at tax time: only one-third of respondents said they’re familiar with tax credits, grants and other financial assistance programs associated with post-secondary costs. Students are also challenge by education costs, with almost one-third of parents (31%) saying their children graduated or will graduate from college or university with more than $10,000 in student debt. For those students, the debt results in postponed life milestones. One in five Canadians with adult children (19%) say student debt has caused their children to postpone buying a home; 10%, to postpone moving out. Adult children in Atlantic Canada are most likely to have postponed buying a home (25%), and those in Ontario are most likely to have postponed flying the coop (15%). Canadians with children under 18 forecast that student debt will have an even bigger impact going forward: more than half say they expect student debt will force their kids to postpone buying a home (51%), and four in 10 say they expect their kids to postpone moving out. For more details, read the student debt survey. About the survey: The online survey of 1,557 Canadians was completed April 26-29, 2019, using Leger’s online panel. The margin of error is +/-2.5%, 19 times out of 20. Also read: When retirees are overextended by extended family Millennials wealthier than Gen X was, but carry more debt Staff The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998. Save Stroke 1 Print Group 8 Share LI logo