6. Can we help the kids with a deposit?

We live in the era of the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’.

Research carried out last year by Bank of Ireland found that over half of the young people they surveyed expected to receive help from their parents to get them onto the property ladder.

It’s not surprising, because buying your first property is hard work – it takes discipline, savvy saving and more often than not it requires a sizable shot in the arm from the previous generation.

If you have kids, then helping them out is likely to be a high priority for you, but it needs to be done in the right way. Quite apart from the tax implications (we’ll cover that in the next question) your money needs to be gifted in a way that’s sustainable for you too, and doesn’t come at the expense of your own retirement. There are things you’d like to do in retirement that you might feel you’re ready to compromise on, but there also things you might end up having to pay for whether you like it or not, like long-term care.

“Your money needs to be passed on in a way that’s sustainable and doesn’t come at the expense of your own retirement.”

As ever, we’ll tackle the question with you and we’ll give you honest answers about your situation. Where your kids are concerned emotion will follow in hot pursuit, but the temptation to make grand gestures is of no use at all if it hamstrings your own future.

We’ll go through the figures with you and if helping with a deposit is something that’s feasible for you.

We’ll work with you to make sure your wealth is protected and that it keeps working long into the future. The key is to be able to help them get that foothold without destabilising your own financial picture in the years ahead.

That’s what the lifetime cash flow modelling of the Metis LifePlan is all about: it gives you comfort and peace of mind that any major decisions you take today are done in the context of a sustainable future.