By Jennifer Hill

LONDON (Reuters) - Parents are turning to their grown-up children for financial hand-outs to pay off debts and ease their retirement, a survey shows.

Sons and daughters in 6.85 percent of households have given money to their parents, according to a survey by Scottish Widows.

The poll of 5,783 adults found that while parents are happy to help their children with house deposits and paying off debts in their younger years, they are increasingly "sapping back", with the average hand-out being 6,500 pounds each -- making a total "sap back" figure of nearly 11 billion pounds.

Of those parents who have borrowed money from their offspring, 35 percent said they used the funds to pay off debts, 15 percent to buy a car, and 14 percent for living expenses.

Anne Young, a savings expert at Scottish Widows, said: "It's obvious that parents have felt the pinch as a result of being 'sapped' for thousands of pounds from their adult children, and are now turning the tables on them."

The trend is expected to increase as life expectancy soars, the economy sours and the cost of living increases.

Merlin Stone, an economist and professor at Bristol Business School, said: "With housing transaction volumes falling, the economic situation perhaps weakening and financial institutions tightening their lending criteria, it's not surprising to see debt pay-off as the main reason for needing money by both generations.

"However, worryingly, the total amount of these intergenerational gifts is also on the increase, possibly reflecting the rise in everyday living expenses for which these sums are being used.