The bank of grandma and grandad is ring-fencing its cash

Do you trust your grown-up children with money? Apparently a lot of us don’t. More than half of the grandparents who plan to leave an inheritance to their grandchildren ring-fence the money so their own children can’t get their hands on it, according to data from insurer Sun Life.

But is it any wonder? British adults have become addicted to debt. The Office for Budget Responsibility has warned we’re on course to spend more than we earn for the rest of the decade. In total, our overspend is expected to be £58 billion this year alone and £68 billion in 2019.

We’re plugging the gap between what we earn and what we spend with unsecured debt in the form of credit cards and personal loans or flogging our assets – everything from our old clothes and furniture to shares.

And with buy now, pay later increasingly the mindset of the nation, it’s hardly surprising that the Money Advice Service estimates that more than 8 million adults are facing problem debt.