Increasing life expectancy and falling birth rates over recent decades means there are more older people supported in retirement by fewer people of working age. Additionally, the trend of having children later in life, alongside historically high house prices and student debt, mean that children are also remaining financially dependent on their parents for longer than ever before.
Research release today by Norwich Union provides more insight into the challenges of this group, nick-named the "Sandwich Generation".
The research confirmed that the dual care role could happen to anyone. Members of the Sandwich Generation surveyed were made up from all walks of life and although the care burden fell mainly to women, four in ten surveyed were men. In terms of age, those surveyed were evenly split amongst the 35+ population, with similar proportions aged 35-44, 45-54 and 55+.
Despite most of those surveyed claiming to be good at making plans for the future, two-thirds had not anticipated being in a dual care role and four in five had not made any plans for the care of their older relatives. This lack of planning continued after people had entered the Sandwich Generation with many adopting a ‘head in the sand' attitude. More than half had made no financial plans for their older relative and only one third were content with the level of financial planning they had made.
Brian Bussell, director of pensions at Norwich Union said, "The aging population means more and more people will find themselves in the Sandwich Generation. Most worrying is that when people use their savings or cut back on pension contributions to fund care for their parents, they are storing up problems for the future and increasing the chance that they will require the same service from their own children. If we are to break this cycle we need to plan for this eventuality.
"When over 100 families are losing their homes each day to repossession, planning for the potential of having to provide care for older loved ones seems a request too far, but this clearly demonstrates the need for the UK as a whole to take out a new years' resolution to review their finances, so that what money they do have is either spent wisely, or saved wisely to secure their own and their families future."
