Nationwide has issued a £610 update to its millions of members. The alert underscores the latest research from the world’s largest building society, which reveals that families are “rethinking future children and work” as childcare costs have jumped up by around 18% over the past year.
Nationwide reports that the average household now spends some £610 a month on childcare, leading many parents to contemplate quitting their jobs. A significant 60% of the 2,000 parents surveyed admitted that the cost of childcare has deterred them from having more children.
Despite these ongoing financial strains, the building society found that over half (53%) of families are still managing to set aside some money each month for their children’s futures. On average, these parents are putting £98 a month aside, with university fees, a house deposit, and a lump sum for a child’s 18th birthday being the primary reasons for doing so.
Mark Nalder, Nationwide’s Payments Strategy Director, said: “This increase in childcare costs is something we naturally see at the end of the school holidays as schools restart. However, it is not showing any signs of slowing, with a significant uplift recorded in October.”
“This is forcing many families to juggle childcare costs with other higher essential bills and as our research shows, many people are reconsidering having more children or giving up work altogether. However, despite these challenges, what is encouraging is that over half of respondents are still able to put some money aside for their children to use later in life.”
