Sandwich generation faces ‘huge burden’
Caring for kids, parents can have emotional and financial pressures
When Catherine Ikeda-Blazys moved next door to her aging parents eight years ago, it was the perfect spot for her to care for them in their golden years.
Yet the Toronto-based executive assistant also had her own children, and as her parents’ health deteriorated over time she felt the demands of caring for two generations grow.
Then after years of worsening dementia and glaucoma, her father died in December.
“It’s overwhelming trying to manage it all,” she said.
“I’m maintaining two households.”
Ikeda-Blazys is part of the socalled sandwich generation, a cohort of middle-aged adults caring for both children and aging parents.
It’s a group that’s long grappled with the conflicting demands of caring for children and seniors, a situation that can put a staggering emotional, physical and financial pressure on caregivers.
“The stay-at-home order means children that normally would have been at school or away at university are home and now many elderly parents are moving in as an alternative to long-term care or require other financial support,” said Sandra Henderson, regional president in the Toronto-area with BMO Private Wealth.
“The pandemic has exacerbated issues that probably were there in the past but are now even more pronounced.”
But financial, retirement and estate planning strategies can help relieve some of the pressure on the sandwich generation, Henderson said.
“We recommend people consider a couple of different scenarios,” she said.
“For example, if you have to support mom and dad for the next 15 years, which is usually the outer time limit, then what would you have to do.”
Henderson said having a flexible and adaptable financial plan is critical, and that financial planners can help people work through multiple different scenarios.
“People need to look at their overall financial plan and their retirement goals and see if they are setting aside enough for retirement and how a change in circumstances like additional expenses for caring for elderly parents impacts those goals.”