The group, dubbed the Sandwich Generation, are commonly responsible for food and household bills (54%), paying off debts (54%, home renovations (23%), medical care (32%) and education fees (11%).
On average Brits spend £1,367 per year supporting older relatives, with a third (33%) having to help towards care costs.
Spending on adult children over 22 years old averages £6,411 a year compared to £3,841 for younger children.
As many as 14% of Brits have the burden of adult children relying on them.
Richard Rowney, LV= life and pensions managing director, said: “The research shows how the changing nature of modern families is placing real financial pressure on those who are having to provide support to more than one generation.
“This help often lasts for many years longer than people may have originally thought.
“Nobody wants to think about the possibility of getting ill or being made redundant however the reality is that some of us will be off work for a period of time at some point in our career.
“Having a contingency plan, such as income protection in place offers you peace of mind that if you fell ill or were made redundant you would receive a regular income which would enable you to carry on supporting yourself and your loved ones.”
Of the Sandwich generation close to half (45%) find the financial pressure challenging, with one in four (25%) taking out a loan to subsidise family members and 8% increasing their working hours or take on a second job (5%).
Nearly half (44%) of people in the Sandwich Generation have to balance working full-time with spending an additional 19 hours each week caring for a parent or older relative and twice as many hours (39 hours per week) looking after a younger relative.
