Most Canadians say saving for their children's education is one of their most important financial goals, but only one in three has any hope of contributing financially to their kids' schooling, according to a new poll released Tuesday.
TD Canada Trust's 2011 education and finances survey suggests that 93 per cent of Canadians cited helping their sons and daughters get a post-secondary education was a top financial priority.
However, only 33 per cent said they are able to save enough cash to pay more than 10 per cent of the costs of this higher education.
TD Canada Trust said soaring college and university tuition was one factor for the poor savings performance.
“For university and college students living away from home, the cost of pursuing an undergraduate degree is approximately $80,000, so it’s no surprise parents are struggling to make ends meet,” said Shahz Beig, TD's associate vice president for personal lending.
Still, the survey noted that 45 per cent of adults with children currently eligible to start in a post-secondary institution had not even begun to save for that kid's college or university.
As a result, only 12 per cent expect to pay for 100 per cent of the kids' post-secondary schooling. The rest said they will have to rely on contributions from their sons and daughters in order to fund their own education.
The survey did find that younger parents did a much better job than their older counterparts at preparing for their children's post-secondary education.
More than 70 per cent of parents with toddler-aged children have begun saving for their post-high school training.
Ottawa has helped this process in recent years by establishing registered education savings plans, financial vehicles which allow cash to accumulate on a tax-free basis for educational purposes years down the road.
TD polled a representative sample of 640 Canadian parents of children aged under 18 years through an online survey conducted between June 10-20, 2011.
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