This Is the Biggest Retirement Challenge for Americans in Their 40s and 50s

This includes 82% helping their kids with daily expenses such as groceries, clothing and cellphone bills. Some 65% offer help with housing expenses; 57% provide insurance coverage of some type; and 53% are helping to fund their children’s education.

Notably, the survey shows 50% of this group are also managing all or a portion of their children’s debt.

The other great source of financial strain for Americans in their 40s and 50s, according to the Athene survey and other reports, is the need to provide care to aging parents. Put simply, the sky-high cost of nursing home care and the unaffordability of long-term care insurance mean even relatively wealthy clients are at risk of serious hardship on this front.

Higher Stress and Lower Retirement Preparedness

According to Athene, the survey revealed that many people in the sandwich generation are balancing career and caretaking responsibilities, adding emotional stress to their list of challenges. For example, while 44% of respondents said the financial strain of caretaking was difficult, 58% said emotional and physical stress was the biggest pain point.

As Athene’s summary explains, among the respondents, 55% made less than $100,000 per year. For this group, they said they were most concerned about their lack of assets to retire, followed by a worry they would not be able to maintain their standard of living once in retirement.

For those who made more than $100,000 per year, 66% of respondents shared this concern of not being able to maintain their lifestyle once retired, but this group was more confident in their ability to take care of their adult children and aging parents successfully.

The study further revealed that many heads of households are serving as a source of financial literacy for their adult children, including helping them open a bank account, explaining credit and debt, and discussing budget management and healthy financial habits.

In looking ahead to their own retirement, 66% of the surveyed group are counting on Social Security as a source of income, followed by 401(k)s and investments, and nearly a quarter of respondents have annuities as part of their financial portfolio, according to Athene.

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