As life expectancies increase, more people are becoming part of the “sandwich generation”. This term describes those who are caring for their own children while also supporting their ageing parents.
This situation could put pressure on your family, both emotionally and financially, especially if you haven’t considered your own later-life care.
Read on to learn more about the challenges faced by the sandwich generation and how you could prevent similar problems for your own children.
Sandwich generation carers lose an average of £6,000 a year
Adults with care responsibilities often find it more difficult to maintain their work schedule, and may face additional costs, too. This means that if your children need to care for you when you’re older, it could harm their financial stability.
According to research published by Cover Magazine, a survey of 1,000 UK adults aged 45-74 who were taking care of an elderly relative found that:
- 9% had stopped working altogether
- 28% had reduced their hours to provide support.
This led to an average income drop of £6,268 a year for carers. When coupled with additional expenses associated with caring for an elderly relative (home alterations, utility bills, groceries), this could create significant financial pressure.
As well as problems covering their short-term costs, carers may also find it harder to contribute to savings and investments for the future, potentially impacting their quality of life later.
Further to this, caring for an elderly parent puts a lot of emotional stress on a person, particularly if they also have a young family to look after.
That’s why it’s important to be aware of how future health problems could affect your own children if you don’t plan accordingly.
You could spend more years living with health problems as life expectancies increase
To understand the increasing challenges posed by health issues and later-life care, it’s important to consider the difference between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy.
Life expectancy means the average amount of time a person lives. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in 2026, a 50-year-old man has an average life expectancy of 84. A woman of the same age has an average life expectancy of 87 years.
Healthy life expectancy, on the other hand, predicts how long you might live in “good general health” without any serious medical problems.
The most recent figures from the ONS (2022 to 2024) showed that healthy life expectancy was 60.7 years for men and 60.9 years for women. Crucially, these figures are the lowest recorded since the 2011 to 2013 period.
This means that, even if you may live for longer, the number of years you spend in ill health could also increase.
Without a clear plan, it may fall to your family to manage your health in later life
If you experience a serious illness in later life, which could be more likely than ever as the gap between healthy and total life expectancy expands, you may require care. This comes at a considerable cost.
According to Care Home, the average weekly cost of residential care in the UK in 2026 is £1,298, or £1,535 if you require nursing care.
While the local authority may offer some support, in England, this only applies if your total assets – including your home – fall below £23,250. Even then, you may still be required to cover a portion of the cost.
If you don’t have enough wealth to pay for later-life care, you and your family have limited options.
You may have to liquidate assets, including your home, to cover the cost. This means you won’t have as much of your estate left to pass to your loved ones when you’re gone.
Alternatively, depending on the severity of your health conditions, your loved ones may need to care for you themselves and take on the financial and emotional challenges discussed earlier.
Neither situation is desirable, and both options could disrupt the long-term financial stability of your children.
Incorporating care costs into your financial plan could protect your family
When creating your financial plan, it may be beneficial to consider the potential cost of care should you become ill.
We can support you with this by using cashflow modelling to see how a large outlay like residential care might affect your overall financial position. Using this information, you can adjust your plan and build additional wealth now, meaning you can absorb this cost without affecting your wider goals.
Crucially, this means that you won’t need to rely on your family for care or financial support. If they do decide to help with your care, you can offset the financial impact of this.
Being able to pay for care also means you retain more of your wealth to pass to the next generation, so your family can remain financially stable and achieve their own life goals after you’re gone.
Get in touch
If you are concerned about the cost of later-life care and how this expense fits into your financial plan, we can help.
Please give us a call on 01276 855717 or email info@braywealth.com today.
Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate cashflow planning.
The value of your investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise. You may not get back the amount you invested.
Approved by the Openwork Partnership on 24/02/2026
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