Three in five people under the age of 50 (61%) are meeting the cost of living through relatives releasing funds from their own property, according to new research from Hodge.

A study by the lender revealed that a quarter of those who had received financial support in this way used the funds to purchase a property of their own.

In its latest study, Hodge questioned 1,240 people between the ages of 16 and 80 to look at how families are working together to purchase property, pay off debts and meet rising living costs. It found that the vast majority (84%) of people under 50 claimed to need financial support from family to help them with the cost of living generally.

In response, more than half of those aged over 50 (57%) said the cost of living has also affected their ability to lend money to others in return.

Business development director for mortgages at Hodge, Emma Graham, said the figures show that “families are moving into a different era financially”, and starting to focus more heavily on pooling their monetary resources.

“There is a progression now, it would seem, towards meeting the challenges presented by the cost of living crisis as a united family unit, and looking at what can be drawn down from assets the previous generation has amassed in order to support their children or grandchildren now, as opposed to focusing on what could be set to get passed on,” Graham said.

“What these figures show us clearly, is that the need to remain flexible and support borrowers at all stages of their life for the benefit of family members looking to get on themselves is more crucial than ever.”

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