A large proportion of grandparents thought a recession would be good for their “snowflake” grandchildren, as a new survey revealed 35% had loaned them money, with only half of the cash repaid in full.

The research, by retirement firm Responsible Life, showed a quarter (24%) thought their grandchildren did not have a good work ethic and nearly half (43%) of grandparents were critical of their own children, believing they were too easy on their offspring.

Nearly one in 10 retirees ended up back in work, with 9% saying they had gone back into full or part-time work to help their grandchildren financially.

In total, seven in 10 (69%) had helped grandchildren with rent money, a house deposit or general living costs, either through working in retirement, savings or released equity from their homes.  

On the whole, 60% of grandparents gave grandchildren financial help three to four times a year, 15% once a month and 7% once a week.

A third of these sums (35%) were less than £100 but 7% had given between £100 and £200, 5% £200-£300, 7% £300-£400, 6% £400-£500, 22% £500-£1,000 and 1 in 5 (18%) had given more than £1,000.

But, of the 35% who had loaned their grandchildren money, expecting to be paid back, only half received the full amount, 13% had been paid back less than half and 20% had been repaid nothing at all.

A quarter of grandparents (25%) had loaned between £10,000 and £20,000 and 8% had loaned more than £20,000.

Just under a third (30%) loaned less than £1,000, 19% between £1,000 and £5,000 and 18% between £5,000 and £10,000.

The poll also revealed one in five retirees thought their own grandchildren were ‘snowflakes’.

That view was taken by 19% of grandparents who believed their grandchildren were “prone to taking offence, less resilient than previous generations or are too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own”.

Steve Wilkie, managing director of Responsible Life, said: “Blood is thicker than water but there’s no love lost when wise heads are asked to sit in judgement of their grandchildren.

“Every generation gets a bit of stick from their elders and the snowflake generation, it seems, is no different.

“But despite their views on younger members of the family, they are still there for them financially.

“Early inheritance is one of the biggest growth areas in the equity release market, as grandparents are keen to help family members out when they need the money the most.”