Education costs on the increase

New research on the cost of education in Ireland, finds that a third of parents surveyed (33%) believe their financial situation has been negatively affected by COVID-19 through reduced income and/or increased costs. As a result, one-in-five parents (20%) have taken out a loan to help pay for their child’s/ children’s secondary school costs, and one-in-ten parents (10%) have taken out a loan to help pay for their child’s primary school education. 

Reducing the financial strain for parents

Of those surveyed, 59% had some form of family savings in place and were able to reduce the financial strain of COVID-19. Over a third (39%) of parents said they are now more likely to create a family savings fund to protect their family against the impact of potential future crises, similar to COVID-19.

Use of savings has jumped for all three levels of education, with 34% (up 5% from 2019) using them for primary, 37% (up 5% from 2019) for secondary and 55% (up 7% from 2019) for third level. The number of parents saving continues to increase, with the average amount in savings is €7049, up €2130 from 2019. 

Regular Savings - let’s help people prepare for a brighter future

Ensuring they can provide for their children’s education, from primary school right through to third level, is a priority for all parents. Zurich’s recently published research into the cost of education highlights the challenge parents may face in the future unless they put a financial plan in place today. By planning ahead and putting an amount aside every month, parents will be in a much better position when it comes time to send their children to school.

Commenting on the findings, Jonathan Daly, Head of Life Retail Distribution and Propositions at Zurich said: “The findings from this year’s research highlight the increased financial strain many families are under since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis. However, the pandemic has also highlighted the importance of saving money and early financial planning. There is an opportunity now for families to make some of the money-saving habits sparked by the pandemic stick long-term. Opening a savings account when children are under a year old will allow you to prioritise education costs before they become a significant financial burden.”

While education in Ireland is free in principle, the reality is that the costs of education are substantial and continue to rise. With a tailor-made savings plan from Zurich from as little as €100 per month, parents can gradually build up the funds necessary to support their children’s education. A full breakdown of costs can be found on the Zurich website for primary, secondary and college education. Zurich encourages people to talk to an independent Financial Broker to help set their savings goals, plan their budget, and choose the right plan for their family.

OnlineApply for Regular Savings

OnlineApply for Regular Savings from Zurich removes the need for a traditional signature or the need for a digital signature provider such as Adobe or DocuSign – the client validation is completely within the Zurich system. This means you can adapt your sales process to take account of the changed work environment – so if you need to meet your clients remotely, and transact business – you can.

For more information

Zurich encourage people to talk to a Financial Broker to help set their savings goals, plan their budget and choose the right plan for their family. Parents can use the Cost of Education Calculators to work out the estimated costs of sending their children to school and/or college and to see how much they might need to save each month to meet these costs. Zurich also offers a wide range of supports for Financial Brokers with a suite of sales material that can help highlight the importance of saving for your clients.

• Visit the ‘School Costs’ campaign section of our website
•  Download our Cost of Education Consumer Flyer
•  Speak to your Zurich Broker Consultant

Source: Zurich Cost of Education Survey, 2021