E19: Can you afford to have kids? With Justine Roberts CBE, Kalpana Fitzpatrick and Jonathan Lister Parsons

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Having children can be one of the most wonderful and rewarding things you’ll ever do, and it’s impossible to put a price on all the joy that kids can bring you. However, there’s no denying the impact that bringing up a family can have on your finances.

Having a child can be a huge financial commitment. According to The Times, it’ll take an average of nearly £203,000 to raise a child from birth to the age of 18. And it won’t necessarily stop there, you might find yourself spending on your kids from before they’re born until well into their adult lives. Add to that, the effects on your income that taking parental leave may bring - you might not know where to begin! 

To talk through all the costs involved with having children and whether raising a family’s currently affordable are our guests:

• CEO of Mumsnet; Justine Roberts CBE
• Financial Journalist and Senior Digital Editor at MoneyWeek; Kalpana Fitzpatrick
• PensionBee’s CTO; Jonathan Lister Parsons.

 

Episode Breakdown: 

02:12 Can you predict how much a baby will cost? 

07:48 Statutory Maternity Pay

09:42 The problem with parental leave 

11:56 Statutory Adoption Pay and Leave 

12:46 The cost of childcare

14:58 Tax-Free Childcare Allowance

15:37 Child Benefit

20:37 Costs as your kids grow up

24:38 Paying for higher education.

*We mention maternity pay in this episode and just wanted to be absolutely clear with the figures:

• Statutory Maternity Pay’s paid up to 39 weeks
• You get 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first six weeks
• You get the lower of £172.48 or 90% of your average weekly earnings for the following 33 weeks. 

*We also accidentally overstated the amount of Shared Parental Leave that you may be entitled to. We said you’d get a year, but it’s actually up to 50 weeks of leave between parents. 

*We state that the UK has the highest childcare costs in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Though this has been true as recently as 2022, the UK currently ranks third. However, this number’s ever changing. 

 

Further reading:

For more help getting financially prepared for raising a family, check out these resources from PensionBee.

• Episode 19 transcript
• Can you afford to have a baby?
• Pensionbee’s research on fair sharing of childcare
• PensionBee Parental Leave Policy
• What I learned about mothers and their pensions from answering Mumsnet questions
• How to financially plan for a baby
• How stay at home mums can build a decent pension
• What happens to your pension during maternity leave?
• Finances for freelancers on maternity leave
• How can I get my pension back on track after taking time off to have children?
• Why parents need to make a Child Benefit claim to protect their State Pension

Other useful resources: 

• Mumsnet
• Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave (Gov.uk)
• Statutory Paternity Pay and Leave (Gov.uk)
• Statutory Adoption Pay and Leave (Gov.uk)
• Disability Living Allowance for children (Gov.uk)
• Tax-Free Childcare (Gov.uk)
• Child Benefit (Gov.uk)
• Boosting paternity leave has economic benefits (Pregnant Then Screwed)
• Average childcare costs (MoneyHelper)
• Transparency on parental pay (ABI)

 

Catch up on the latest news, read our transcripts or watch on YouTube:

• The Pension Confident Podcast
• The Pension Confident Podcast on YouTube

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Follow @KalpanaFitzpatrick on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and TikTok