The value of a parent - Legal & General

VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 research
the tough
questions.
Our research shows it could cost over £31,500 a year to pay
someone to replace a Mum’s domestic work and nearly £24,000
for a Dad. By asking your clients how they’d cope if a parent died,
you have an opportunity to discuss the importance of having
protection cover in place. These are tough questions, but every
adviser should be prepared for the conversation.
This is not a consumer advertisement.
It is intended for professional financial
advisers only and should not be relied upon
by private investors or any other persons.

contents.
Key findings
INTRODUCTION
VALUE OF A PARENT
THE COST OF RAISING CHILDREN
Parents Lifestyle
financial priorities
GRANDPARENTS
STATE BENEFITS
methodology
3
4
5
9
13
17
25
29
34

key findings – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 research
3
KEY FINDINGS
• £31,627 – the value of a Mum per year.
• £23,971 – the value of a Dad per year. This is 13% higher
than in 2011.
• £23,946 – the value of the domestic work that the average
full-time working parent carries out each year.
• £154,440 – the average day-to-day cost of raising a child
to the age of 18. This is a 15% increase from 2011.
• Every week, parents are spending, on average,
4.5 hours on social media and 5 hours on researching
products/services online.
• 73% of parents said they felt in control of their finances.
• 73% of parents said their top financial priority was to ensure
their children are looked after if they were unable to due to
death or illness.
• Only 31% of parents surveyed have a will.
• Less than a third of parents have any Critical Illness
Cover (29%), Income Protection (14%) or Family Income
Benefit (12%).
• Only 29% of parents with cover had reviewed it in the last
two years.
• Parents said they spend three times more on pocket money
and treats each week than they do on insurance.
• Expectant Mums underestimated the cost of raising
a child by 59%.
• 81% of parents thought the government should be
responsible for looking after them if they died, became
critically/terminally ill or were affected by long-term
sickness or disability.
• Grandparents are now the number one back up plan to
maintain a lifestyle if a parent died (26%).

4
INTRODUCTION – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 research
INTRODUCTION.
Welcome to Legal & General’s Value of a Parent 2013 research
report. We’ve been researching the value of a parent for over
30 years, tracking changes in parents’ behaviours and
attitudes towards domestic work.
Parents may tend to take their wages into account when
deciding on a level of cover, but they often don’t consider the
unpaid domestic work they do. If either parent were unable
to work or carry out the tasks around the home due to death
or illness, how would they or their partner cope financially?
Would they be able to afford to pay someone to help, or give
up work altogether, to do them? It’s crucial that this is taken
into account.
They don’t expect to be paid for this work, but if they were
how much would it be worth? That’s what this research sets
out to do – to find out the insurance value of the unpaid work
that a parent does around the home.
We believe this research will help you have the more difficult
conversations with your clients in order to help them be more
financially prepared.
OPPORTUNITIES.
Some of the areas explored in the research include:
• The costs of raising children.
• Parents’ lifestyle, including online and social media usage.
• Financial priorities, focusing on how parents prioritise
their finances and whether they’re putting long-term
financial plans in place.
• Grandparents and the role they have in the modern family.
• State benefits and the role parents think they have in
financially supporting their family.

VALUE OF A PARENT – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
VALUE OF
A PARENT.
5
VALUE OF
A PARENT
When considering levels of cover for protection policies, one of
the biggest considerations is how much people earn. However, in
addition to this, parents carry out unpaid domestic work that often
isn’t taken into consideration. This section looks at the perception
and reality of the value of this unpaid domestic work.
value of a parent
Mum Dad New/expectant
mums
Hours per week 71 hours 53.5 hours 72.5 hours
Cost per year £31,627 £23,971 £32,655
perceived value of a parent
perceived
worth
Actual
worth
Difference
Mums £15,548 £31,627 £16,079
Dads £15,496 £23,971 £8,475
Parents are massively underestimating the value of the unpaid work
they carry out in the home. The value of a Mum’s domestic work is
more than double the estimate, and for Dads there’s a difference of
55% between the work that parents think they’re carrying out and
the amount they actually are.

6
VALUE OF A PARENT – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
Value of parents by working status
Working status
Cost per year
Full-time £23,946
Part-time £28,833
Not working £34,562
As expected, the average value of the unpaid domestic work that a
non-working parent carries out is highest at £34,562. Interestingly,
parents in full-time employment are contributing just under £24,000
worth of unpaid domestic work around the home in addition to their
wages, which is 14% higher than in 2011.
Opportunity
Full-time working parents carry out nearly £24,000 worth of
unpaid domestic work. Your clients should consider the value
of their domestic work, as well as their wages, when deciding
on a level of cover to help ensure they can meet their expenses.

VALUE OF A PARENT – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
7
Value of a parent by region
Region Mum Dad
UK £31,627 £23,971
London £32,320 £27,038
South East £33,840 £25,198
South West £27,464 £20,887
East Anglia £29,301 £21,906
West Midlands £30,576 £25,059
East Midlands £29,417 £22,364
North West £30,816 £22,166
North East £32,711 £33,925
Yorkshire/
Humberside
£32,421 £22,465
Scotland £32,289 £22,962
Wales £27,636 £27,344
Northern Ireland £29,384 £21,976
£32,289
£22,962
£29,384
£21,976
£30,816
£22,166
£32,711
£33,925
£32,421
£22,465
KEY
MUM
DAD
£30,576
£25,059
£27,636
£27,344
£27,464
£20,887
£29,417
£22,364
£32,320
£27,038
£29,301
£21,906
£33,840
£25,198

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VALUE OF A PARENT – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
The highest regional values for Mums in the UK was in the
South East (£33,840), closely followed by the North East (£32,711).
For Dads, the highest regional value was in the North East (£33,925),
which is 42% higher than the national average.
Opportunity
These regional figures give a fascinating insight into differences
within the UK. Using these in discussions with clients can help
you bespoke your conversations more towards their specific
protection needs.
“It feels like I’m working
two jobs at once. One
at work where I get paid,
and one at home where
I don’t.”

the cost of raising children – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
9
the cost
of raising
children.
Raising a family is an expensive business. This section looks
at the perceived and actual day-to-day costs associated with
looking after a family, and what parents are spending their
money on.
COST OF RAISING
CHILDREN
EXPECTANT MUM’S PERCEPTION OF COST
TO RAISE A CHILD
cost per year
Actual cost £8,580
Expectant Mums’ estimate £5,400
Difference £3,180
There was a £3,180 (or 59%) difference between what expectant
Mums estimated it to cost to raise a child each year and what
it actually costs. Over the course of 18 years, this difference
works out at over £57,000.

10
the cost of raising children – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
COST OF RAISING A CHILD PER YEAR
The cost of raising a child to 18
is £154,440 – Up 15% from 2011.
£10,000
Value
£8,000
£6,000
£5,408
£5,928
£6,864
£7,436
£8,580
£4,000
£2,000
£2,756
0
2001
2004
2005
2009
2011
2013
Spend per year
The day-to-day cost of raising a child is now £8,580 a year,
which is more than three times higher than when the research
was carried out in 2001.
Opportunity
Our research has found that the average day-to-day cost
of raising a child is £8,580 per year. If your client has no
protection cover in place, could they afford these costs
should they or their partner die or be unable to work
due to long term sickness, injury or a critical illness?
Would they have to make cutbacks to their lifestyle?

the cost of raising children – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
11
AVERAGE COST OF RAISING A CHILD
EACH WEEK
£80.00
£70.00
£71.50
All parents average £165
£60.00
£50.00
Cost per week
£40.00
£30.00
£20.00
£10.00
£14.00£14.50
£11.00 £9.00 £11.00
£7.00 £6.50 £4.50 £6.00 £4.50 £5.50
£0.00
Food
Childcare
Clothes
(incl. nappies)
Entertainment
(meals, cinema, etc)
Regular activities
(sports/music)
Pocket money
Dinner money
Anything else
School fees –
private education
Bus or train fares
Treats
Insurance
Cost per household
As expected, the biggest weekly expense is food, which accounts
for 43% of the weekly spend.
PRESSURE TO BUY BRANDED GOODS
We also asked the parents in our survey what their attitude is
towards buying branded goods. 32% of parents stated that they
felt pressure from their children to buy branded goods. On a
regional level, this was highest in London (41%) and Scotland (40%).
Of those parents that said they felt pressured by their children to
buy branded goods, 75% said that this pressure came from wanting
their children to fit in with their friends.

12
the cost of raising children – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
Opportunity
One of the biggest objections that clients have to taking out
cover is that it’s too expensive. But our research suggests that
they’re spending, on average, three times the amount on treats
and pocket money than they are on insurance. Discussing your
client’s short term budgeting and their long term financial plans
and priorities can help challenge these cost objections and
highlight the need for having some protection cover in place.
“I keep my children happy and
healthy, and provide them with
security physically, socially
and financially for today and
in the future.”

Parents Lifestyle – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
13
parents
lifestyle.
The time we spend with our families is incredibly important.
This section will look at how parents are spending their time,
and also the effects of new technology and media and how
this is impacting on parents’ behaviour.
PERCEPTION OF TIME SPENT ON
HOUSEHOLD CHORES
Partners’
Perception
Actual
Hours
Difference
Parents
Lifestyle
Mums 20 hours 71 hours 51 hours
Dads 18 hours 53.5 hours 35.5 hours
All parents 19 hours 64.5 hours 45.5 hours
The table above shows that there is a big difference between
how much time parents think they’re spending on chores and
how much they’re actually doing. There’s a 51 hour difference
between the perceived amount of time Mums spend on
household chores (18 hours) and the amount of time Mums
have said they do (71 hours).
Opportunity
Parents are underestimating the amount of time that
they and their partner spend carrying out unpaid domestic
work. This could also mean that they’re underestimating
the level of cover they may need to protect themselves
in the event that they’re unable to do these tasks.

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parents lifestyle – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
BREAKDOWN OF TIME SPENT ON
DOMESTIC CHORES
35
30
30.5
Mum
Dad
25
24
20
Hours
15
10
8.5
5
0
Spending time
with children
Cooking/
preparing meals
6 6.5
Tidying up
4
4.5
Washing/ironing
clothes
3
4.5
2.5
Cleaning/
vacuuming
4
Driving to
activities
3
4
3
3.5 3.5 3.5
Washing up/
dishwasher
Shopping
(instore/online)
Other household
tasks
3
1.5 1.5
Gardening
For both Mums and Dads, childcare is the activity they’re
spending the most time on. The value of childcare a Mum
carries out per week is £277, and for Dads it’s £218.
New Mums are spending the most time on childcare at
33 hours per week, the value of which is £299.
Opportunity
Mums carry out £277 of childcare and Dads £218. Could
your client afford to give up work or pay for childcare?

PARENTS LIFESTYLE – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research 15
TIME parents have TO THEMSELVES AND
WITH PARTNER
hours spent (week)
Time with partner
Time to themselves
17.5 hours
7 hours
Opportunity
Parents spend, on average, 7 hours a week to themselves
and 17.5 hours a week of quality time with their partner.
Should the worst happen, would quality time disappear in
favour of having to work?
SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE
BEHAVIOUR
TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE
RESEARCHING/SHOPPING per week
overall Mums dads
Time spent shopping
and researching
products/services online
5 hours 5.5 hours 5.5 hours
Time spent on
social media
4.5 hours 5 hours 3.5 hours

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PARENTs LIFESTYLE – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
INTERNET USAGE
Smartphone/
iPhone/Blackberry
70%
MUM
DAD
66% 76%
Facebook
63%
66% 56%
Tablet/iPad
Apps for your
bank or other
financial companies
Twitter
Online social
networks for parents
e.g. mumsnet
30%
23%
21%
14%
25% 38%
20% 29%
18% 27%
16% 9%
None of the above
0
12%
20
40 60 80 100
Percentage
13% 11%
26% of parents also said they use social media to follow companies,
and 25% use it to research products and services of interest.
Opportunity
Parents are embracing social media and incorporating it into
their day-to-day lives, with a quarter of parents saying they
use it to follow and research companies. Do you have an online
strategy in place? Being active on social media can provide you
with a platform to interact with existing and potential clients
and spread awareness of the services you provide.

financial priorities – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
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financial
priorities.
We all have financial commitments, and as we all know our
wages only stretch so far. This section of the research looks
into the financial priorities of parents, starting with the
perceived level of control they have over their finances, through
to the financial plans they’ve made and the provisions they
have in place for their family should they not be able to work.
PARENTS THAT FEEL IN CONTROL OF
THEIR FINANCES
KEY
Very in control 21%
Quite in control 52%
Not very in control 20%
Not at all in control 5%
Partner looks after finances 1%
Don’t know 1%
financial
priorities
Encouragingly, the majority of parents (73%) we surveyed
said they felt they were in control of their finances.
We also asked parents how long they thought their savings
would last if their income stopped. Working parents said they
felt they could last, on average, 7.9 months and non-working
parents said their savings would last 8 months.

18
financial priorities – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
Opportunity
Despite many parents (73%) feeling in control of their finances,
49% didn’t know how long their savings would last if they were
unable to work. Talking to your clients about their day-to-day
spending as well as long term financial planning can help them
regain control of their finances.
TOP FINANCIAL PRIORITY
Making sure your child(ren) is/are
financially looked after should you be
unable to (due to death or illness)
73%
Saving enough money to provide for
your child(ren)’s education
23%
Saving enough money to provide for
your child(ren)’s first house
3%
Not surprisingly, nearly three quarters (73%) of parents said their
top priority was to ensure that their children are looked after
financially should they be unable to provide for them. The findings
were similar for new and expectant Mums, with 72% saying that
this was also their top priority.

financial priorities – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
19
PLANS IN PLACE
DO YOU HAVE A WILL?
KEY
Yes 31%
No, I haven’t got round to it 52%
No, I don’t feel I need one 16%
Don’t know 1%
Less than a third of parents (31%) have a will in place. For new and
expectant mums, this was much lower at 16%.
More worryingly, of those parents that don’t have a will, 52% said the
reason they didn’t have one was because they hadn’t got round to it.
Opportunity
52% of parents said that the reason they don’t have a will in
place is because they haven’t got round to it, yet 73% said their
top priority was to ensure their children are financially provided
for. This suggests that when talking about being in control of
their finances, parents are referring more to their day-to-day
finances and less to their long term financial plans.
Unfortunately, although we don’t like to think about it, death
can happen at any time. As well as helping to give clients peace
of mind that their money would be left to those that matter
most to them, discussing wills also presents the perfect
opportunity to establish their protection needs.

20
Financial Priorities – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
INSURANCE PRODUCTS THAT PARENTS
HAVE IN PLACE
mum DAD overall
Life insurance 51% 61% 54%
Critical Illness Cover 27% 34% 29%
Income Protection 13% 16% 14%
Family Income
Benefit
12% 14% 12%
For all types of cover, a higher proportion of Dads had cover in place
than Mums. Less than a third of parents had Critical Illness Cover
(29%), Income Protection (14%) or Family Income Benefit (12%).
Opportunity
The proportion of parents that had any cover in place was very
low. This is interesting considering that 73% of parents said their
top priority was to ensure children are looked after financially
if they were unable to provide for them. This presents a perfect
opportunity to encourage parents to back up their intentions
and actually get cover in place.

financial priorities – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
21
PARENTS THAT REVIEW THEIR COVER
KEY
Yes 35%
No 59%
Don’t know 6%
Opportunity
Only 35% of the parents we surveyed regularly review their
levels of protection cover, and only 29% have done so in the
last two years. By not regularly reviewing their cover, clients
may find that the level of cover they have in place is no longer
sufficient to help meet their family’s financial needs.

22
financial priorities – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
COPING FINANCIALLY IF A PARENT BECAME
ILL OR DISABLED
Make cutbacks/reduce spending
52%
Employer covers sickness pay
for a certain period of time
Rely on savings
Rely on state benefits
36%
34%
33%
Rely on partner’s wage
26%
Relatives would help
Claim on insurance policy
20%
19%
Partner not working already
6%
Don’t know
11%
0 15 30 45 60
Percentage
Opportunity
33% of the parents we surveyed said they’d have to rely on
state benefits if a parent became critically ill or disabled.
Would they be able to maintain their lifestyle by relying on
state benefits should the worst happen?

Financial Priorities – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research 23
MAINTAINING LIFESTYLE iF PARENT DIED
Parents
Rely on grandparents to
look after children
Would work part time
to look after family
Children old enough to
look after each other
Rely on family while at work
26%
23%
21%
18%
MUM DAD
28% 23%
21% 27%
23% 18%
20% 15%
Downsize home
Continue to be full time
house wife/husband
Give up work to
look after family
Employ a childminder
while out at work
Move in with family
Rely on friends while
out at work
Another alternative
Employ a live-in
nanny/aupair
Don’t know
Nothing
7%
6%
3%
2%
5%
11%
11%
10%
9%
12%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Percentage
7% 18%
8% 16%
10% 11%
10% 9%
6% 10%
6% 7%
4% 3%
2% 1%
13% 12%
4% 7%
Getting help from their children’s grandparents is the most common
back up plan parents have in place to maintain their lifestyle should
a parent die (26%). 17% of parents said that they had no plans or
didn’t know what they would do if either they or their partner died.

24
financial priorities – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
Opportunity
10% of parents said that if their partner were to die, they
would give up work to look after the family. Without having
protection in place, these parents may have to rely on state
benefits. How would your clients cope financially if they had
to rely on state benefits? Would these be enough to maintain
their current lifestyle?
Also 26% of parents said that they would rely on their children’s
grandparents to look after their children if they died. But is this
a reliable long-term solution?
“I want to be able to provide
for my family, both now and
if something happened to me.”

grandparents – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
25
grandparents.
With the increased cost of living in recent years, some parents
are finding themselves having to return to work to meet their
family’s financial needs.
Grandparents are playing an increasingly important role in the
family, from providing financial support to helping with childcare
and looking after the home. In fact, as indicated in the financial
priorities section, relying on grandparents is the most common
back up plan parents have in place to help maintain a family’s
lifestyle should a parent die, showing just how crucial they’ve
become to modern family life.
THE VALUE OF GRANDPARENTS
full-time
working
parents
part-time
working
parents
% Who have help
with childcare
whilst at work
26% 23%
Average hours
per week
grandparents work
% That pay
grandparents
for help
8 hours 8 hours
26% 20%
Grandparents
Although grandparents are helping an average of 8 hours a week,
only 26% of the full-time working parents and 20% of part-time
working parents we surveyed pay for this help. If parents
were paying for childcare instead of having unpaid help from
grandparents, this would cost an average of £73 per week.

26
grandparents – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
TOP REASONS FOR USING GRANDPARENTS
FOR CHILDCARE
Strongly agree
Strongly disagree
Tend to agree
Don’t know
Tend to disagree
I am grateful to my childrens
grandparents for helping with childcare
68% 29%
2%
1%
The children’s grandparents are the best people
to look after them while I am at work
50%
43%
5%
2%
I can only work the hours that I do because my
children’s grandparents can offer flexible childcare
36% 30% 18% 3%
13%
I can only afford to work because my children’s
grandparents help with the childcare
30% 29% 29%
7%
5%
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percentage
93% of parents agreed that their children’s grandparents were the
best people to provide childcare whilst they’re at work. New and
expectant Mums agreed with this sentiment, with 66% of them
choosing to use their own or their spouse’s parents as childcare,
stating that the top reason for this is that they trust them (69%).
Interestingly, the parents we surveyed indicated that the flexibility
of childcare (66%) their children’s grandparents can offer is a more
important factor than cost (59%).

grandparents – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research 27
IF GRANDPARENT COULD NO LONGER HELP
WITH CHILDCARE WHILST A PARENT IS AT WORK
Organise alternative
paid childcare
36%
Change working hours
36%
Organise other family or
friends to cover childcare
24%
Stop working as it would
not be financially worthwhile
to pay for childcare
21%
Change jobs
19%
Stop working because
I only want my family to
look after my children
9%
0 10 20 30 40
Percentage
There are some big differences between this year’s findings and
those from our 2011 survey. Most notably, the number of parents
who’d stop working if their children’s grandparents couldn’t provide
childcare is down 10% from 2011. The number of parents who
indicated they’d change their working hours in favour of quitting
work has increased, from 29% in 2011 to 36% in 2013.

28
GRANDPARENTS – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
Opportunity
Our findings suggest that grandparents are a trusted and
flexible source of childcare, and the average value of this is
£73 per week.
Do any of your clients indicate that they regularly rely on
grandparents for help with childcare or would they use them
as a back up plan? Ask them how they’d cope if this care was
no longer available. Would they be able to afford to pay a
child-minder? Or would they be able to afford to give up
work in favour of looking after their children?

STATE BENEFITS – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
29
STATE
BENEFITS.
Many people think that if they or their partner died or were
unable to work, the help they would get from the state would
be enough to look after themselves financially. However, with
a difficult economic climate and austerity measures being
introduced, these benefits are being eroded. This section
looks at parents’ attitudes towards state benefits.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR HELPING
FINANCIALLY IF A PARENT DIED, BECAME
CRITICALLY/TERMINALLY ILL OR WERE
AFFECTED BY LONG TERM SICKNESS
OR DISABILITY
90
80
70
81%
Percentage
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
32%
15%
10%
Government Should be insured Friends/Family Charities
State benefits

30
STATE BENEFITS – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
There is a big difference in parents’ perceptions in this year’s
survey than in 2011. This year, 81% of parents said that they think
the government should be responsible for looking after them
financially if they or their partner died or were unable to work due
to a critical/terminal illness or long-term sickness. When asked
in 2011, 59% of parents thought the government should be
responsible for helping financially if they died and 63% if they
became critically ill.
More worryingly, only 32% of parents suggested that they should
have some form of protection cover in place. This is interesting,
considering that 73% of the parents we surveyed stated that they
felt in control of their finances. This suggests that although some
parents believe they are in financial control when it comes to short
term budgeting, many aren’t taking responsibility and putting
longer term financial plans in place.
“The government and society
have made it so hard for
Mothers. I feel I’ve been
given an ultimatum; look
after your children and
have little money or work
and miss your child’s life.”

STATE BENEFITS – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research 31
STATE BENEFITS PARENTS BELIEVE THEY’D
BE ENTITLED TO IF EITHER PARENT DIED
Widowed parents allowance
26%
Council tax benefit
Housing benefit/Universal credit
Working families tax credit/
Universal credit
New deal for lone parents
Income support/Universal credit
Unemployment and support
allowance/Incapacity benefit
Disability living allowance/
Personal independence payments
Disabled persons tax credit
Jobseeker’s allowance/
Universal credit
Don’t know
3%
3%
2%
2%
8%
8%
8%
7%
13%
59%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Percentage

32
STATE BENEFITS – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
STATE BENEFITS PARENTS BELIEVE THEY’D
BE ENTITLED TO IF EITHER PARENT WERE
TO BECOME DISABLED
Disability living allowance/
Personal independence payments
55%
Disabled person tax credit
40%
Council tax benefit
Housing benefit/Universal credit
Employment and support allowance
(incapacity benefit)
23%
21%
26%
Income support/Universal credit
Working families tax credit/
Universal credit
Jobseeker’s allowance/
Universal credit
New deal for lone parents
Widowed parents allowance
12%
7%
3%
2%
1%
Don’t know
32%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Percentage
Although the majority of parents thought that it’s the government’s
responsibility to look after them if they were unable to work, 59% of
parents don’t know what benefits they’d be entitled to if either parent
died and 32% if either parent is unable to work due to disability.

STATE BENEFITS – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
33
Opportunity
Our research shows that although the majority of parents think
the government should be responsible for looking after them
financially (81%), a high proportion of parents don’t know what
benefits they’d be entitled to.
If your client says they’re concerned about the level of financial
support they would receive from the government if their partner
died or they couldn’t work, having some financial protection in
place could help to ease these concerns.
WHERE PARENTS GO WHEN THEY NEED
FINANCIAL ADVICE
We asked parents where they would go for information if they
needed financial advice. The most popular response was Citizen’s
Advice Bureau (34%). The next highest response was that they
didn’t know where they’d go for financial help (19%).
Opportunity
This shows the importance of the advice that you have to offer.
By promoting the services you can offer and giving advice on
protection cover, you’ll be able to give those people who are
unsure where to go an outlet to get sound financial advice.

34 methodology – VALUE OF A PARENT 2013 Research
methodology.
Audience
• Main Value of a Parent survey of parents with at least one child
aged 18 or under living with them.
• New additional survey of expectant Mums or Mums with
a child under 1 year old.
Quotas
• Quotas were set to ensure the balance of the sample reflected
the sample in the 2011 and 2009 surveys in terms of gender,
work status and marital status.
Method
• Fieldwork was conducted from 18th to 25th January 2013.
• Online survey with sample from a panel.
• This audience is likely to have higher than average use of the
internet as the respondents have participated in an online survey.
Questionnaire
• Bespoke questionnaire designed for this project.
• The core value of parent questions remain the same for
tracking purposes, with the addition of new questions to create
fresh insights.

Please speak to your usual
Legal & General contact.
Legal & General Partnership Services Limited
Registered in England and Wales No. 05045000
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Legal & General Assurance Society Limited
Registered in England and Wales No. 00166055
Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and
regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the
Prudential Regulation Authority.
We are members of the Association of British Insurers.
Registered office for both firms: One Coleman Street,
London EC2R 5AA
W13408 10/13