Teenagers and money talks do not happen nearly as often as young people would like, with seven in 10 (70%) parents admitting they avoid financial conversations with their teenage children, according to research commissioned by savings and investment firm M&G.
The survey questioned 1,000 parents of 16 to 18-year-olds and 1,000 young people in the same age group across the UK, carried out in April by research agency Opinium. Its findings point to a clear gap between what teenagers want to know about money and what their parents are actually telling them.
Why parents are holding back on teenagers and money talks
The most common reason parents gave for avoiding the subject was not wanting to worry their children, cited by more than a quarter (28%) of respondents. Around one in five (22%) said they felt teenagers already had enough on their plate, while a further 20% felt financial conversations were simply not yet relevant for their child’s age.
Nearly a third (31%) of parents said they discuss money with their teenagers less than once a month. When those conversations do happen, they tend to stay close to everyday spending. Parents said they were most comfortable talking about food shopping (47%) and holidays (36%), rather than anything to do with longer-term financial planning.
The picture looks rather different from the teenagers’ side. More than a third (35%) of young people surveyed said they believe their parents avoid financial discussions because the parents themselves feel anxious about money. In other words, many teenagers are not oblivious to the avoidance: they have formed their own view of why it is happening.
What young people actually want to learn
Seven in 10 (70%) teenagers said they want to feel better prepared for their financial future. Only 21% said they felt too young to start learning about money, suggesting the majority are ready for conversations their parents are not initiating.
More than seven in 10 (71%) said they would like stronger financial education, particularly around investing and long-term planning. Those are areas well beyond the food-shopping discussions that dominate current family money talk.
Matthew Ings, a chartered financial planner at M&G, said: ‘Teenagers are telling us they want to better understand money and feel confident about their future, yet many parents are holding back, often because they just don’t feel confident enough to have these conversations. That’s completely understandable, but it highlights the need to reframe how we think about money so we don’t accidentally leave young people underprepared.’
His point about parental confidence is worth sitting with. The research does not suggest parents are indifferent to their children’s financial futures. Rather, many appear to feel they lack the knowledge or certainty to speak about investing, pensions, or long-term planning with any authority, and so say nothing at all. The result is that young people who are actively seeking financial knowledge are left to look elsewhere.
Pension health checks and broader guidance
M&G used the research to make the case for pension ‘health checks’, which it believes could give people personalised guidance at key life stages, such as starting a new job. The firm suggests such check-ins could improve understanding of retirement savings, build confidence in engaging with personal finances, and make it easier for people to discuss money matters with family members.
The research was conducted by PA Media partner Opinium on behalf of M&G. It surveyed equal samples of parents and teenagers, each group numbering 1,000 participants, across the UK.
Seven in 10 teenagers and money talks remain largely disconnected, the data suggests, despite those same teenagers saying clearly that they want more. M&G plans to publish guidance aimed at helping families start those conversations, beginning with the everyday financial moments parents already feel at ease discussing.
