At a time when your career is reaching a peak and you are looking ahead to your own retirement, you may find yourself in the position of having to help your children with college expenses while at the same time looking after the needs of aging parents. Squeezed in the middle, you’ve joined the ranks of the “sandwich generation.”

What challenges will you face?

Your parents faced some of the same challenges that you may be facing now: adjusting to a new life as empty nesters and getting reacquainted with each other as a couple. However, life has grown even more complicated in recent years. Here are some of the things you can expect to face as a member of the sandwich generation today:

• Your parents may need assistance as they become older. Higher living standards mean an increased life expectancy, and you may need to help your parents prepare adequately for the future.
• If your family is small and widely dispersed, you may end up as the primary caregiver for your parents.
• If you’ve delayed having children so that you could focus on your career first, your children may be starting college at the same time as your parents become dependent on you for support.
• You may be facing the challenges of “boomerang children” who have returned home after a divorce or a job loss.
• You may be incurring financial uncertainty in your own life.

What can you do to prepare for your future?

It’s hard to take care of anyone else if you can’t take care of yourself first.  We encourage you to take some time to determine your visions, goals and dreams and then develop a plan to pursue them.  This could save you much stress and expense in the years to come.  Planning ahead gives you the chance to take the wishes of the entire family into account and to help reduce future miscommunications with family members should you need to take care of your parents.

Prepare now for the future:

• Know your visions, goals and dreams
• Create an Emergency Fund
• Have your arms around your expenses
• Pay off all consumer debt and then make a commitment to stay out of consumer debt
• Commit to investing 15% of your salary to retirement accounts such as a Roth IRA/401k
• Have a plan to pay your home off or to buy a home that is affordable
• Save for children’s education
• Try to talk with your parents about their financial future and healthcare plans

Important Disclosures

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax or legal advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific situation with a qualified tax or legal advisor.

No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk in all market environments.

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