--- title: Millennials Are Already Paying the Price as the New ‘Sandwich Generation’ description: Millennials are taking care of their kids and aging parents — which has major consequences for their careers, savings and retirement plans. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 499 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2026-07-27T18:42:07.000Z' modified: '2026-07-27T18:42:07.000Z' section: Personal Finance tags: - News word_count: 483 canonical: https://money.com/millennials-sandwich-generation-caregiving-costs/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo wall of old and young generation sandwiching the person in the middle](https://img.money.com/2026/07/Money-Sandwich-burden.jpg) Millennials are starting to face their next financial crisis, and it's affecting them much sooner than expected. Born between 1981 and 1996, millennials are quickly becoming the new so-called “sandwich generation,” a term used to describe people who are taking care of their children and aging parents at the same time. The phrase has historically been [associated with Gen Xers](https://money.com/millennials-boomers-killing-gen-x-retirement-savings/) in their late 40s or 50s, but a recent [report by online marketplace Care.com](https://www.care.com/c/sandwich-generation-caregiver-report/) updated that definition. It found that the average age today's caregivers took on dual responsibilities is just 34, with a typical overlap in child- and parent-care giving of 6.4 years. “These families are carrying an enormous amount, often without enough support and often without anyone acknowledging what they’re doing,” Jill McNamara, a vice president at Care.com, said in a [news release](https://www.care.com/about/press/new-care-com-report-finds-americas-sandwich-generations-caregiving-duties-began-around-age-34-blindsiding-most/). The report was based on survey responses from 1,000 U.S. adults who are caring for children 14 years or younger and older family members simultaneously. Responses were collected in late June. ## ‘Blindsiding’ responsibilities and costs of caregiving Taking on the burden of dual caregiving was "blindsiding," according to Care.com. Some 80% of respondents said that the responsibilities were sudden and took them by surprise, and 86% said they were completely unprepared for the challenge. Mothers often feel the brunt of the added responsibilities, reporting 27 hours of caregiving a week (versus 20 hours for fathers). About 8 in 10 moms said they miss out on downtime or “me time” because of their caregiving duties. “Financially, the picture is equally sobering,” the report states. Due to the additional responsibilities, most caregivers reported having to make major career changes, with some declining promotions, taking on second jobs or leaving the workforce entirely. Millennials' careers were especially likely to take a hit, with 61% reporting they had to turn down a job opportunity versus 38% of Gen X respondents. Regardless of age, caregivers say the costs are financially straining their budgets, as they are split between paying for childcare and elder care. According to a [different report](https://www.care.com/c/cost-of-care-report/), about 1 in 5 families spend at least $30,000 on childcare alone, while hiring even part-time, non-medical help to care for an aging parent costs [$35 an hour on average](https://www.carescout.com/cost-of-care), or approximately $18,200 annually for 10 hours of assistance each week. These decisions have long-term financial consequences, too. Separate [research](https://www.ebri.org/docs/default-source/pbriefs/ebri_ib_661_rcscare-22jul26.pdf?sfvrsn=55f00c2f_2) from the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 56% of working caregivers said caring for a family member had a negative impact on saving for emergencies, and 53% said the same about saving for retirement. About 3 in 10 working caregivers reported adjusting the age they plan to retire. Millennials are disproportionately impacted here, as well. Reducing or halting [retirement contributions](https://money.com/ways-to-increase-retirement-money/) — especially during the peak earning years of a career, which many millennials are in — can have an outsized impact on a person's nest egg once they're ready to settle down. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-sandwich-generation-caregiving-costs/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Personal Finance", "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Millennials Are Already Paying the Price as the New ‘Sandwich Generation’" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-sandwich-generation-caregiving-costs/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/millennials-sandwich-generation-caregiving-costs/", "name": "Millennials Are Already Paying the Price as the New ‘Sandwich Generation’", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-07-27T18:42:07.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-sandwich-generation-caregiving-costs/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/millennials-sandwich-generation-caregiving-costs/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2026-07-27T18:42:07.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Millennials Are Already Paying the Price as the New ‘Sandwich Generation’", "articleSection": "Personal Finance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/07/Money-Sandwich-burden.jpg", "width": 5760, "height": 3840, "caption": "Money-Sandwich-burden" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. 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