While some college students might rely on their parents to pay the bills or even move home after graduation, a poll from the Pew Research Center released Thursday says more parents don’t expect their children to become financially independent until age 25 or older.
Eighty percent of parents with children age 16 or younger who responded to the original survey in 1993 said they expected their children to be financially independent by their 22nd birthday while 19 percent said 25 or older. Today’s parents are more willing to support their children longer than in 1993 —31 percent of respondents in 2011 said they wouldn’t expect their children to be independent until they were 25 or older.
Older adults and adults with children who are 18 or older had a different view of the age of adulthood than younger people.
“Of survey respondents with adult children, 46 percent say children can rely on their parents for financial support after age 22. Of respondents who are older than 50, regardless of their parental status, a similar share (44 percent) has this mindset,” the New York Times reported.
But younger people aren’t expecting their parents to support them into their 30s — 66 percent of younger adults said they expected to be financially independent by age 22.