A new online survey found that more than half of Canadian millennials say they need a financial inheritance to achieve their goals, including buying a house or having a child.

Pollara Strategic surveyed 1,517 Canadian adults between August 15 and 16 to better understand money transfer habits since the start of the pandemic, finding that 25 percent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 have received or made money transfers since March 2020, compared to the national rate for all age groups of 14 percent. While they represent the age group most likely to receive money, the survey found that they also send more transfers than their older counterparts, with 14% of millennials sending money transfers, compared to 1% of respondents aged 35 to 54 and 4% of respondents over 55 years old.

Julie Pereira, chief strategist at Edward Jones, the financial agency that commissioned the survey, said in a statement: "We've all heard of the 'mom-and-pop bank' supporting young generations through wealth transfer, but our data shows a strong willingness from young people to give back."

Young generations also used wealth transfer to meet immediate demands, including those related to: personal finances (38 percent), including job loss or health expenses; the economy (33 percent), including inflation; major purchases (25 percent), including home or car purchases; and life burdens (18 percent), such as having a child. The death of a family member or acquaintance accounted for 51 percent of wealth transfers for older generations (those aged 55 and above) and 63 percent for those aged 35 to 54. In comparison, this reason represented only 28 percent for millennials.

Also, a report released last year by IG Wealth Management found that 72 percent of surveyed parents were willing to help their children buy a home, giving an average of $145,000 per child. The majority of Canadians (54 percent) aim to leave an inheritance, or at least part of one, during their lifetime, according to the recent survey, as ensuring their inheritance is dispersed without dispute (34 percent) and providing immediate financial relief to a friend or family member are the two variables most likely to impact this choice (27 percent). However, this is a significant decrease from last year, when 65 percent of Canadians said they wanted to leave an inheritance.

With inflation in Canada still high, it was also found that younger Canadians are facing many financial blows, as a survey conducted by Finder.com last month found that 27 percent of millennials aged 27 to 41 reported they took on debt to pay their expenses, closely followed by 26 percent of respondents from the generation aged 18 to 26.