Middle-class parents who fail to get married are more likely to see their children drop in social status as they get older, a study suggests.
Figures show that professional parents who are unmarried are much more likely to have a child who receives state benefits during their lives.
And while middle-class children are less likely overall to receive benefits at some point, the effect all but disappears if their parents were not married when they were born.
Children of professional parents who were not married had a 53 per cent chance of being on benefits, compared to 37 per cent for those whose parents had married.
The report, by pressure group the Marriage Foundation, argues that “the protection of social class only appears to apply to those whose parents were married at the time of their birth.
"If their parents were not married, when they were born, 'rich kids' are nearly as likely to end up on benefits as 'poor kids'."
Sir Paul Coleridge, former High Court judge and chairman and founder of the organisation, said “The natural assumption is always that the children of the better off will, by reason of their family wealth, be protected from ever needing state benefits.
"But this new research demonstrates that that is simply not the whole story." etc
The above comprises some of the article which i’m Sure you can read for yourself anyway, should you wish to.