Monterey, CA Increasing Number Of Sandwich Generation, Supporting Children And An Elderly Parent

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I've written before on my blog about the increasing number of people that are in the so-called sandwich generation, those middle-aged caregivers who have the burden of bringing up children while being the primary caregiver for an aging parent.  A new survey found that about 15% of American's in their 40's and 50's provided financial support to both an aging parent and a child in 2012.  The Pew Social Demographic Trends Project found that this statistic leaped from 12% in 2005.  And another 47% of those in their 40's or 50's that were either raising a child or providing financial support for a child in 2012 have a parent who is 65 or older who might need financial help in the future.  These are huge numbers and show how bleak things might become if the economy doesn't rebound.  On January 30 it was announced that the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure used to gauge if we are in a recession, dropped in the fourth quarter of 2012.  It was a tiny drop (-0.1%), but a drop nevertheless.  It surprised many economists as it was the first negative GDP posting in three years. If the U.S. goes into a recession again, these people in the sandwich generation are going to have an extremely difficult time supporting themselves, let alone unemployed children and elderly parents.  Let's hope this doesn't happen.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands To Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.