‘STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU’ : BALANCING INTERGENERATIONAL NEEDS

Posted by Keystone Wealth Management Ltd on 23rd September 2019 -

Often referred to as ‘the sandwich generation’, many 40 to 60 year old's can find themselves providing financial assistance not only to their children, but also to their mums and dads.

With increased life expectancy, many older people can expect to live well into their 80's and 90's but may require assistance with daily living or need to go into residential care. At the other end of the scale, families are having children later and it has become a well-publicised phenomenon that these children are often still, to some extent, financially dependent on their parents into their 20's or even 30's. Financially, saving for retirement and supporting other family members is placing a significant burden on the sandwich generation, and in many cases severely reducing their capacity to save or invest for their own futures.

How to plan for your needs Adopting a collaborative approach to financial planning can help ensure that parents are able to prepare for their future whilst looking after the needs of other family members. Openly discussing wealth matters as a family can help establish priorities, clarify goals and ensure that plans are put in place to support each generation as their needs dictate. Almost a quarter of over-50's in a recent survey admitted that they sacrificed saving for their retirement to provide financial support to other family members, while 12% admitted they had stopped saving completely. Whatever age they are, everyone should make provision for their later years. Even small sums saved regularly will go some way towards providing a pension income. Getting good advice will help you work out how much you will have available to live on in retirement, and how you can improve your pension outlook.

For more information, please contact our IHT and Pensions specialist, Keystone Independent, on 020 8939 4545 or email him directly on [email protected]

If you’re making plans for your retirement and would like some professional advice, then please get in touch. The value of pensions and investments and the income they produce can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested.