Elderly care costs weigh down 'squeezed generation'

A "squeezed generation" are facing an ongoing battle to cover social care costs for their parents and bring up their own children at the same time, research has shown.

The Co-Operative Bank has drawn attention to the plight of middle-aged people expected to simultaneously finance two other generations, with one in seven adults understood to be living with this financial burden.

As a result, many have had to rethink their lifestyles and make sacrifices to plug the gaps, with more than 50% said it is preventing them from being as comfortable as they wanted to be at their age.

With UK life expectancies increasing - 82 for women and 78 for men on average - and almost half of babies being born to mothers who are over 30, this generation is coping with everything all at once.

Previously, the costs associated with taking care of elderly parents might have been an issue when children were a little bit older, but current trends in society have changed all that.

The worst-hit groups are believed to be parents with children under the age of 18, who have to pay out around £3,505 a year to support their parents and kids.

Meanwhile, those left with an empty nest at home still have to fork out £2,543 annually to support both generations.

Robin Taylor, head of banking at the Co-operative, said: "The report shows how the changing nature of modern families and cost pressures of living in the current economic climate, are placing real financial pressures on the shoulders of today's middle generation.

"Compared with previous generations, the higher costs of housing, providing care for the elderly and everyday living, have resulted in a squeezed generation, who are having to re-adjust their views of the lifestyle they thought they would have been enjoying at their age."