The rise of the sandwich generation client

Intergenerational planning is coming under pressure as a growing cohort of clients is being pulled in two directions at once, supporting ageing parents while helping adult children. For advisers, this is becoming one of the most complex and emotionally charged areas of financial planning. IFA Magazine’s Deputy Editor Jenny Hunter examines how advisers are increasingly acting as balancers of competing needs, not just planners of money.

Those in the sandwich generation are clients who have the dual responsibility of supporting their parents, financially, emotionally or logistically, while also helping their own children as they reach major life milestones. This might involve assisting ageing parents with care needs or day-to-day support, while also helping children struggling with housing affordability or seeking support to get onto the property ladder.

These clients are usually in their mid to late careers. In fact, there were an estimated 1.4 million sandwich carers aged 16 to 64 in the UK between 2021 and 2023, according to the Understanding Society study, with the largest proportion aged between 45 and 54.[i] While these clients may appear financially comfortable on paper, sitting between two generations with genuine financial needs can gradually erode wealth if planning is not handled carefully.

This is where advisers can add real value. Cashflow modelling can help answer the key question: how much can a client realistically afford to give without compromising their own future?

Why the sandwich generation is growing

There is no single reason behind the rise of these clients, but several long-term trends are converging. People are having children later in life, which stretches generational timelines. Parents may still be supporting children financially, just as their own parents begin to require additional help. At the same time, younger generations face greater financial barriers. Property affordability, persistent inflation and fluctuating interest rates mean many young adults rely on parental support for longer.

In many cases, this means wealth is being transferred earlier, with parents helping with university costs or housing deposits years before traditional inheritance planning would have come into play. Longevity and rising care costs are also increasing pressure at the other end of the family structure. Although families have no legal obligation to fund care, many feel a strong responsibility to ensure parents are supported later in life. With government funding often limited, the financial burden frequently falls on families.

Frozen tax thresholds and wider cost-of-living pressures are also increasing strain on what might be described as ‘middle wealth’ households.

The financial planning challenge

For advisers, these competing priorities introduce a complex planning challenge. Clients may need to support parents with care costs while also helping children with major financial milestones such as university fees or housing deposits. At the same time, they must ensure their own retirement plans remain intact.

In practice, advisers are increasingly helping clients move away from open-ended financial support towards more structured planning. This may involve setting clear limits on how much support can be provided or reviewing family support as part of regular financial planning.

Some advisers also encourage support through structured loans rather than outright gifts, particularly when helping children with property purchases. This can preserve flexibility if parents later need access to funds while also helping manage fairness between siblings. Another approach is to ring-fence retirement assets, identifying capital that should not be used for family support.

Cashflow modelling also plays a central role, allowing advisers to test different scenarios across uncertain timelines. Clients may need to support parents for several years while also helping children at unpredictable stages of life.

Research from AXA Health highlights the wider impact of these pressures. The firm found that “balancing the emotional, physical and financial demands of caring for both generations at the same time can come at a cost to health, wellbeing, finances and in many cases career.”[ii]

The emotional squeeze

Beyond the financial complexity lies a behavioural challenge. Clients supporting two generations often experience guilt, stress and uncertainty about whether they are doing enough for either side of the family. A study by researchers at University College London found that “people who care for both their children and older family members – also known as ‘sandwich carers’ – suffer from deterioration in both their mental and physical health over time.”[iii]

This emotional pressure can lead to rushed financial decisions. Advisers, therefore, play an important role in helping clients step back and consider the long-term implications of their choices.

The defining client of the next decade

The sandwich generation is unlikely to be a short-term phenomenon. With longer life expectancy, later parenthood and ongoing affordability challenges facing younger generations, advisers can expect to encounter more clients navigating these dual responsibilities.

Ultimately, the role of the adviser is not to choose sides between generations, but to help clients remain financially secure while supporting the people who depend on them.

About Jenny Hunter

Jenny Hunter is Deputy Editor at IFA Magazine. With a degree in English, she went on to qualify as a Paraplanner and Chartered Financial Planner herself, working in an advice business before combining her love of writing and her technical financial knowledge into an Editor role.

Her perspective and insight into the business of advice is based on over a decade of personal experience working in the profession.

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[1] https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/

[1] https://www.axahealth.co.uk/staying-healthy/ageing-well/whos-looking-after-the-sandwich-generation/

[1] https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/jan/sandwich-carers-experience-decline-mental-and-physical-health