Pocket Money Guide 2026 (UK): how much, at what age, and what to attach it to

Pocket money

Every parent I know has been ambushed by the same question at the dinner table: “How much pocket money do the others get?” There is no official UK figure, but there is very good data. NatWest Rooster Money publishes an annual Pocket Money Index built on what families actually pay through its app, and the 2025/26 edition covers ages 6 to 17. This guide walks through those numbers, the chores question, what changes when your teenager takes a first part-time job, and where a Junior ISA fits in.

Pocket money by age in the UK (2025/26) 🐷

The figures below are from the NatWest Rooster Money Pocket Money Index 2025/26 (data from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026). Rooster splits earnings in two: regular pocket money is the recurring weekly or monthly amount before extras, and overall income adds chore payments, rewards and one-off boosts.

Age	Regular pocket money / week	Overall income / week
6	£2.69	£4.58
7	£2.79	£4.77
8	£2.88	£5.10
9	£3.07	£5.52
10	£3.27	£6.08
11	£3.56	£7.30
12	£4.01	£9.15
13	£4.50	£11.50
14	£5.10	£13.97
15	£5.66	£16.34
16	£6.68	£21.26
17	£7.95	£23.56

Source: NatWest Rooster Money, Pocket Money Index 2025/26. Averages among Rooster Card users, so they reflect families who already use a pocket money app.

Two things stand out. First, the gap between the columns: across all ages the average child received £9.74 a week overall (up 6.7% on the previous year), but only £3.94 of that was regular pocket money. Most of a British child’s income is earned or gifted, not given. Second, the jump around 12 to 13: overall income roughly doubles between 11 and 14, which is exactly when secondary school, phones and bus fares arrive.

Weekly or monthly?

Under about 10, pay weekly. A week is a horizon a child can hold in their head, and if the money is gone by Wednesday, Saturday is close. From secondary school onwards, switch to monthly. It will go wrong for the first two months. That is the lesson, so resist topping up.

Chores or no chores?

This is the argument every family has, and the honest answer is: both, kept separate. Our rule at home is that ordinary family jobs (laying the table, tidying your own room) are unpaid, because we are a household, not an employer. Extra jobs are paid, and the Pocket Money Index tells you the going rate: mowing the lawn is the best-paid chore at £3.52 per session, followed by cleaning the car (£3.36), cleaning the windows (£1.65), gardening (£1.38) and dog walking (£1.15). Making the bed earns 28p. If your teenager wants a bigger phone, the lawn is where the conversation should go.

Whatever you decide, write it down. A note on the fridge saying “£20 on the 1st; you pay for snacks, cinema, games” ends most arguments before they start. Rooster also found that around 56% of money saved by kids goes into pots with a specific goal attached, which matches what we saw: no child saves “for the future”, but every child saves for the skateboard.

Tip

Split into three pots from the start: pocket money (theirs, no comments from you), budget money for agreed costs like clothes or phone credit from about 13, and extras (birthdays, chores, grandparents). The middle pot is where budgeting is really learned.

In summer 2026 my three daughters (13, 15 and 17) and I sat at the kitchen table for an hour a day talking about money. Pocket money was the way in. My 15-year-old worked out her snack spending came to over £300 a year. She now packs a sandwich. Voluntarily.

When to raise it

Not because a friend gets more, but when the job changes: the move to secondary school (switch to monthly), the moment your child starts paying for clothes or their own phone top-ups (add budget money), or a fixed annual review on their birthday with the table above in hand. And if your child turns up with a plan explaining why they need more, they have already learned half of what pocket money is for. More on the conversations behind this in How to Teach Teens About Money: a 12-week plan.

The first part-time job: rules at 13 to 16

At some point earnings overtake pocket money, and that is a good thing. The UK rules, from GOV.UK:

Minimum age: children can work part-time from 14; some local councils allow light work from 13 under their byelaws, so check yours. A paper round or a Saturday job in a shop are the classics.
Term time: a maximum of 12 hours a week, with no more than 2 hours on school days and Sundays, and up to 5 hours on Saturdays for 14-year-olds or 8 hours for 15- to 16-year-olds.
School holidays: up to 25 hours a week at 14 and 35 hours a week at 15 to 16 (5 or 8 hours on weekdays and Saturdays, 2 hours on Sundays).
Pay: the National Minimum Wage applies from school leaving age. From April 2026 the under-18 rate is £8.00 an hour, the 18-to-20 rate £10.85 and the 21-and-over rate £12.71 (GOV.UK). Younger children on paper rounds are not covered by it, so agree the pay up front.

When my eldest got her first job we did not stop her pocket money; we froze it and agreed what she would pay for from now on: her phone and her clothes. A fixed share of her wages went to savings, the rest was hers. If you are wondering how the US does it, our sister guide Allowance by Age 2026 (US) covers the dollar side.

Where a Junior ISA fits

Pocket money teaches spending and short-term saving. For long-term money (birthday cheques, grandparents, your own contributions) a Junior ISA is the standard UK wrapper: up to £9,000 can be paid in for the 2026/27 tax year, interest and gains are tax-free, the child can take control of the account at 16 and withdraw from 18 (GOV.UK). Show your teenager the balance once a year; nothing explains compound interest like a number that grew without anyone touching it. And if they ask what happens if the bank fails: UK deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person per bank (FSCS, since 1 December 2025).

How Novara helps

Novara is the money course I built for my daughters over that summer: 16 chapters from pocket money through interest, subscriptions and the first payslip to credit and tax, a quiz after every chapter, five calculators (savings goal, compound interest, budget and more) and a parent dashboard so you can see where your child is. It is free to download, the first three chapters are free, and one purchase unlocks all 16 for the whole family. No ads, no subscription, no payment card. Rated 9+.

FAQ

How much pocket money should a 10-year-old get in the UK?

According to the NatWest Rooster Money Pocket Money Index 2025/26, 10-year-olds received an average of £3.27 a week in regular pocket money and £6.08 a week including chores and boosts. Use that as a reference point, then adjust for what your child is expected to pay for.

Should pocket money depend on chores?

Keep a small unconditional amount so your child always has something to manage, and pay separately for extra jobs. Ordinary family tasks should stay unpaid; otherwise every request to help turns into a negotiation.

At what age can my child get a bank card?

Most UK banks offer children’s current accounts with a debit card from around 11, opened with a parent, and several pocket money apps issue prepaid cards from 6. Whichever you choose, sit down together with the first statement; card payments weigh nothing, and that is the lesson.

Sources

NatWest Rooster Money, Pocket Money Index 2025/26: roostermoney.com and Pocket Money Index hub
GOV.UK, Child employment: gov.uk/child-employment
GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage rates (April 2026): gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
GOV.UK, Junior ISAs (2026/27 allowance): gov.uk/junior-individual-savings-accounts
FSCS, deposit protection limit: fscs.org.uk