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The cost of raising a child has hit an all-time high, according to a new report, heaping pressure on families already coping with cuts to child benefit. Figures from insurer LV='s annual Cost of a Child Report show that the cost of a bringing a child up to the age of 21 has reached £222,458 - more than £4,000 higher than last year and up £82,000 on ten years ago. The insurer estimates that this is set to reach £350,000 by 2023 if costs continue to increase at the same rate. The report will be a further blow for hard-working families ascash-strappedparents continue to struggle with rising household bills and wage freezes and cuts to child benefit. The right to receive the payments, worth £20.30 a week for the first child and £13.40 for further children, was removed earlier this month from households with one earner on a salary of more than £60,000 and reduced for families where one member is paid more than £50,000. The research published today shows costs have risen in all areas over the last decade, except for clothing, down 5pc, with education seeing the biggest increase. As a result, more than three-quarters of parents have been forced to make cutbacks tomake ends meet. According to LV=, more than four in ten arereining inspending on luxuries such as holidays, a third are also cutting back how much they spend onessentialssuch as food. Education and childcare remains the biggest expenditure for parents. The cost of education, including uniforms, after school clubs and university costs, has shot up from £32,593 to £72,832 per child in the last ten years. Childcare costs have also rocketed, up from £39,613 in 2003 to £63,738 today. The rising cost of nursery care is high on the agenda for the Coalition. But it recently backed away from plans to give every parent with children under five tax relief worth about £2,000 per child. It had beenbilledas the principal policy to emerge from the Coalition’s Mid-Term Review. The cost of electronic gadgets has presented a new financial strain on family budgets, with annual spend increasing to £302, as have holidays, up from £11,458 a decade ago to £16,195. However, the increase on each is likely to be due to families committing more of theirdiscretionary spendingrather than being just down to price rises. “The cost of raising a child continues to soar and is now at a ten year high,” said Mark Jones, head of protection at LV=. “Everyone wants the best for their children, but the rising cost of living is pushing parent’s finances to the limit. There seems to be no sign of this trend reversing. If the costs associated with bringing up children continue to rise at the same pace, parents could face a bill of over £350,000 in ten years’ time.” (The Telegraph) |
據(jù)最新報(bào)道,英國(guó)育兒成本再創(chuàng)新高。英國(guó)之前已經(jīng)削減了兒童津貼,而育兒成本的上升更加重了養(yǎng)育子女的家庭負(fù)擔(dān)。 據(jù)保險(xiǎn)公司LV=在年度育兒成本報(bào)告中提供的數(shù)據(jù),將孩子撫養(yǎng)到21歲的成本已經(jīng)達(dá)到22.2萬(wàn)英鎊,比去年多出4000英鎊,比十年前多出8.2萬(wàn)英鎊。 LV=公司預(yù)測(cè)到如果育兒成本以當(dāng)前的速度繼續(xù)增長(zhǎng)下去,到2023年育兒費(fèi)用將高達(dá)35萬(wàn)英鎊。 由于經(jīng)濟(jì)拮據(jù)的父母要同時(shí)應(yīng)付家庭支出上漲、工資凍結(jié)以及兒童補(bǔ)貼縮減的困境,此報(bào)告對(duì)于這些努力工作的家庭來(lái)說(shuō)無(wú)疑是又一波重大的打擊。原先年薪超過(guò)6萬(wàn)英鎊的單收入家庭和其中一人年薪超過(guò)5萬(wàn)英鎊的家庭都有權(quán)得到兒童補(bǔ)貼,生第一個(gè)孩子每周能得到20.3英鎊,再生更多的孩子每周還能得到13.4英鎊。然而這項(xiàng)政策在本月早些時(shí)候被取消了,第一類(lèi)家庭將得不到任何補(bǔ)貼,第二類(lèi)家庭的補(bǔ)貼將有所減少。 今天公布的研究表明,在過(guò)去十年里除了服裝領(lǐng)域的花費(fèi)下降了5%,其它領(lǐng)域的開(kāi)支均有所上升,其中教育開(kāi)支上漲最多。 結(jié)果超過(guò)四分之三的父母都被迫節(jié)衣縮食以維持生計(jì)。LV=公司宣稱(chēng),五分之二的家庭現(xiàn)在嚴(yán)格控制度假等享樂(lè)性開(kāi)支,三分之一的家庭還在削減食物等必需品的開(kāi)支。 教育和兒童保育仍舊是父母最大的開(kāi)支項(xiàng)目。在過(guò)去十年里,每個(gè)孩子的平均教育支出(包括校服、課外俱樂(lè)部和大學(xué)費(fèi)用)從3.26萬(wàn)英鎊飆升到了7.28萬(wàn)英鎊。 兒童保育費(fèi)用也從2003年的3.96萬(wàn)英鎊飆升到現(xiàn)在的6.37萬(wàn)英鎊。 聯(lián)合政府的議程上幼兒保育的費(fèi)用也逐日攀升。聯(lián)合政府中期評(píng)審會(huì)議通過(guò)的最主要的政策是給有五歲以下幼兒的父母每個(gè)孩子免2000英鎊的稅收,而這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃最近卻被取消了。 電子設(shè)備的開(kāi)支成為家庭預(yù)算中新的財(cái)務(wù)壓力,每年在這方面的開(kāi)支已上升至320英鎊。度假開(kāi)支也從十年前的1.15萬(wàn)英鎊上升到1.62萬(wàn)英鎊。不過(guò),這兩個(gè)方面開(kāi)支增長(zhǎng)很可能是因?yàn)榭勺杂芍涞拈_(kāi)支增多,而不只是因?yàn)槲飪r(jià)上漲。 LV=公司的保護(hù)部負(fù)責(zé)人馬克?瓊斯表示:“撫養(yǎng)孩子的成本持續(xù)攀升,目前已達(dá)到十年以來(lái)的最高峰?!?/p> “每個(gè)家長(zhǎng)都想給自己的孩子最好的,但日益上漲的生活費(fèi)用即將掏空父母的錢(qián)袋。而且沒(méi)有跡象顯示這一趨勢(shì)會(huì)逆轉(zhuǎn)。如果父母養(yǎng)育孩子的成本繼續(xù)以當(dāng)前的速度上漲的話(huà),十年后育兒成本將超過(guò)35萬(wàn)英鎊。” 相關(guān)報(bào)道 美國(guó):養(yǎng)育子女成本逾20萬(wàn)美元 英國(guó)涌現(xiàn)“回巢族” 生活仍需依賴(lài)父母 (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 實(shí)習(xí)生徐凌晨 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: cash-strapped:金錢(qián)拮據(jù)的,缺乏現(xiàn)金的 make ends meet:勉強(qiáng)維持生計(jì) rein in:嚴(yán)格控制 essentials:生活必需品 bill:宣布 discretionary spending:可自由支配的開(kāi)支;(基本生活費(fèi)以外的)酌量(消費(fèi))支出 |