Kenneth Glad
Family timing can affect savings, housing and working life in ways that are easy to miss. For some households, the largest pressure may appear years after the birth itself.
People who have children later in life may need to reconsider when they can afford to retire, according to financial experts cited by The Sun.
The pressure comes from timing. Child-related costs may continue into the same years when many workers would normally be increasing pension contributions, cutting debt and preparing to leave full-time employment.
Rising living costs, expensive housing and career uncertainty have all contributed to people delaying parenthood. Waiting can bring advantages. Older parents may have higher salaries, stronger savings and more secure housing than they had in their twenties.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at investment platform AJ Bell, told the newspaper:
“We’re postponing parenting until later in life, and while it’s nobody’s business but yours when or if you have kids, it comes with some significant financial implications.”
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the average age of parents has continued to rise. The average age was 31.1 for mothers and 34.0 for fathers, up from 31.0 and 33.9 respectively in the previous figures.
Costs can overlap with pension-saving years
Having a child at 40 could mean still providing support at 60 or beyond. If the child remains at home into their mid-twenties, the parent may be around 65 before household costs fall.
Coles told The Sun: “You need to consider how old you will be when they hit pricier times in their life — especially if they choose to study at university.”
Jordan Clark, a financial planner at Quilter, said young adults often move between home, education and early career stages before becoming fully independent.
“Many children now will yo-yo between home and further education, sometimes remaining at home until they are established in their choice of career,” Clark said.
For some parents, that could mean working longer than planned or delaying access to private pensions.
Longer careers may strengthen pension pots
Remaining in work for longer is not only a setback. It can also give parents more years to contribute to a pension.
Clark said people should avoid neglecting retirement saving, even when family costs are high. The pension examples cited by The Sun show how regular contributions can still build into large sums over time.
A 40-year-old with no pension savings, earning £45,000 and contributing 10% a year until the state pension age of 68, could build a pot worth £340,314. That assumes 5% gross growth, 3% wage growth and 0.7% in fund, advice and service costs.
At a 15% contribution rate, the same example could produce £510,471.
Charlotte Kennedy, a chartered financial planner at Rathbones, told The Sun: “Having children later in life can create a financial squeeze that many families underestimate.”
She added that older parents may have stronger earnings, but they are often raising children when pension saving should be accelerating.
Once family costs and pension deadlines start competing for the same income, workplace schemes become more important.
Salary sacrifice may reduce the strain
One option mentioned in the report is salary sacrifice. Workers using the scheme give up part of their salary in exchange for pension contributions or other benefits.
Because the money goes into the pension before certain deductions, it can reduce tax and National Insurance payments while increasing retirement savings.
Analysis from Vanguard Europe provided to The Sun suggested salary sacrifice could boost a retirement fund by up to £50,000 over time.
In one example, a worker earning £37,500 sacrifices 5% of salary into a pension. With a 3% employer contribution, the annual pension boost would be £3,521, helped by lower tax and National Insurance costs.
There is no single correct age to have children. But the figures show why later parenthood may require a different retirement plan, especially for families still supporting children when work is meant to be winding down.
Sources: The Sun, ONS
