Many Gen Z adults still get financial help from their parents

Relying on your parents for money can help you to become independent. But it can also create problems in your relationship if not handled well, experts say.

About two-thirds, or 64%, of parents with Gen Z children — those between the ages of 18 and 28 — say their kids still rely on them financially, whether for money, housing or other support, according to the 2026 Wells Fargo Money Study. More than half of those parents, 56%, say that support is straining their own finances. The bank surveyed 3,773 U.S. adults at the end of last year.

“Support into the mid-20s, and sometimes beyond, has become more accepted, especially when it helps a young adult finish school, manage housing costs or avoid falling behind financially,” said certified financial planner Douglas Boneparth, president and founder of Bone Fide Wealth, a wealth management firm in New York City. 

But parental support should be approached “as a plan, not a lifestyle,” Boneparth said.

The support you get from your parents can come in a variety of ways, said Elena van Stee, a sociology fellow at Harvard University who focuses on parent-child relationships. Sometimes parents will split the cost of an expense, such as rent, with their child or require that their child hold a job while receiving their help. Other examples, she said, include a parent selling their car to their child or charging them rent.

“Especially in more affluent families, when parents were able to provide support but felt uneasy about it, they sometimes developed creative ways of structuring support to make it feel more culturally acceptable,” van Stee said.

In each case, you should ask your parents to “be very clear” about the terms of their contributions, said Boneparth, a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.

Specifically, you’ll want your parents to spell out if the help is a gift or a loan, he said. If your parents are giving you a loan, “treat it like a real financial arrangement,” Boneparth said. You should understand the total amount being loaned, the interest rate, when repayment starts and what your repayment amount and frequency will be, he said.

If the support is a gift, you’ll still want to know how long the help might last and when the situation will be revisited, Boneparth said.

“A good rule of thumb is to revisit the arrangement monthly if the support is ongoing and meaningful, or at least every three months if the situation is more stable,” he said.

While these conversations can feel awkward, “ambiguity is what breeds resentment on both sides,” said Tim Ranzetta, co-founder and CEO of Next Gen Personal Finance.

To avoid arguments down the road, these financial arrangements are best put in writing, added Corey Seemiller, a professor at Wright State University and the co-author of “Generation Z: A Century in the Making.”

“For instance, if the parents agree to pay off their child’s student loans, that should be in writing,” Seemiller said. “If the child is going to live at home and pay rent, that should be in writing too.”

Young adults receiving financial support from their parents should also be up front about their plan, Ranzetta said. They “should be able to show their parents a budget, a savings goal [and] a specific timeline,” he said.

“It turns an open-ended situation into something with a finish line everyone can see,” Ranzetta said.

You should come to the regular check-ins with your parents prepared to share updates on your income, job search progress and debt repayment, Boneparth said.

“The goal is to show that the support is being used intentionally and that there is forward movement toward greater independence,” he said.

Often, young adults experience shame about getting financial help from their parents, said Harvard’s van Stee.

The support can trigger worries that you’re falling behind traditional adult milestones or discomfort at your privilege of having access to this help, when so many don’t, she said. The share of Black adults who receive parental assistance is much lower than among white adults, a 2021 study from researchers at the University of Buffalo and The New School found.

“Accepting parental support can feel incompatible with American cultural understandings of meritocracy and the idea that people should earn their own success,” van Stee said.

But it’s often that help from parents that enable children to be able to stand on their own two feet eventually, she said.

“Past support enables present and future independence,” van Stee said.