Nearly half of millennials and almost 1 in 5 Gen Xers find themselves caught between two generations needing care — their children and their aging parents. This “sandwich generation” is facing mounting financial pressure, forcing many to make a difficult choice between their family’s immediate needs and their own retirement security.
According to the 2025 Annual Retirement Study from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement, 25% of Americans currently juggle responsibilities for both children under 18 and living parents. As a result, nearly 60% report reducing or stopping contributions to their retirement savings accounts to manage these competing demands.
The study also found that three-quarters of sandwich generation members say they can’t balance their financial needs while caring for both groups, and 7 in 10 report their retirement plans have taken a significant hit.
This burden often arrives without warning. Six in 10 weren’t planning to support their parents at this stage of life. For 76%, the caregiving responsibilities feel like a full-time job on top of their actual employment.
Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life, says in a summary of the findings:
“Caring for both your young children and your aging parents can be overwhelming for both your time and your finances. While you may feel it is your responsibility to care for everyone, it’s important to keep your own best interest in mind for your long-term security.”
In terms of the kind of support caregivers are providing, the vast majority (78%) offer some combination of physical, financial or emotional support to parents while raising children. It’s a level of responsibility that wasn’t part of their original life plan.
The long-term consequences could ripple through generations. Without adequate retirement savings, today’s caregivers risk becoming tomorrow’s financial burden on their own children. It’s a cycle that threatens to repeat itself as life expectancies increase and adult children take longer to achieve financial independence.
LaVigne emphasizes that professional financial guidance can help. “If you’re struggling to manage all your priorities, a financial professional can help you create a strategy to balance current responsibilities with your financial future.”
For those caught in the middle, the challenge becomes finding ways to honor family obligations without sacrificing their own financial stability. The stakes are high, as neglecting retirement savings now could mean working longer, living on less in retirement, or eventually relying on the very children they’re currently supporting.
Every caregiver must consider how to protect their own long-term security.
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