A lot of parents help support adult children as old as 34

Most parents expect to pay for their children until they become adults. But many say they are still financially subsidizing their now-adult children, sometimes well into their late 20s and early 30s, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.

Most parents expect to pay for their children until they become adults. But many say they are still financially subsidizing their now-adult children, sometimes well into their late 20s and early 30s, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. Never mind that today’s young adults are more likely to have college degrees and earn more money on an inflation-adjusted basis than their parents did 30 years ago, according to Pew. “Young adults are reaching some key milestones such as marriage and parenthood later in life, even as they exceed their parents’ generation when it comes to educational attainment, employment and wages,” Pew researchers wrote in their analysis. At the same time, adult kids are also more likely to have student loan debt, and more of it than their parents did at their age. In 1992, the median student debt adjusted for inflation was roughly $6,000 to $7,000 among young adults, according to Pew. But in 2022, adults between 25 and 29 owed a median of $16,000 and those ages 30 to 34 owed $20,000. The Pew report is based on two different surveys conducted last fall. One is of a nationally representative sampling of parents in the United States with adult children between the ages of 18 and 34. And the second is of a nationally representative sampling of adults in that age range who have at least one living parent. Financial help comes in many forms. Providing food and shelter, either free or at a discount, is a big one.