Taiwanese parents save 17% of monthly income in education funds

Taipei, Sept. 11 (CNA) Nearly 80 percent of Taiwanese parents regularly save money in an education fund for their children, and they put slightly more of their household income into the fund than parents across the Asia-Pacific region, according to a Mastercard survey.

The results of the survey on spending tendencies in education, released on Monday, found that 79 percent of Taiwanese parents save money regularly for their children's education, higher than 71 percent in China and 73 percent in Hong Kong.

In terms of how much they save for education, Taiwanese parents put aside 17.27 percent of their household income each month in an education fund, based on Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) data.

That surpassed the average of 15 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, the Mastercard survey found.

The survey found that the families, whose annual household incomes averaged NT$1.2 million (US$39,900), deposited an average NT$17,192 per month in accounts for education purposes in 2016, indicating that Taiwanese parents plan for their children's education.

The survey also found that 26 percent of Taiwanese parents would like to have their children study abroad, up by 5 percentage points from the previous poll.

It was the highest growth in the Greater China area, Mastercard said.

The United States was the most-favored overseas location, with 69 percent of the parents surveyed citing it as the place they most wanted their children to study, the company said.

The survey was conducted from October to December in 2016 among 9,123 consumers aged between 18 and 64 years old who have a bank account and at least one child older than one year old.