There’s a new kind of squeeze unfolding across Australian households in 2025 – and for many over-60s, it’s a pressure no one quite anticipated when we looked toward retirement with optimism. They call it the Sandwich Generation. Until recently, that phrase was more commonly applied to people in their 40s or 50s. But the reality now is that many in our cohort are living smack-dab in the middle – supporting ageing parents and adult children, simultaneously. And, believe me, that sandwich is getting heavier by the year.
What is the Sandwich Generation in 2025?
Traditionally, the Sandwich Generation referred to middle-aged people who had dependent children (often teenagers) still living at home, while also helping ageing parents. In 2025, the meaning has shifted and stretched. Today, it often includes those over 60 who never quite exited caregiving entirely – because life doesn’t always follow the neat plan of “children independent, parents passed on, retire in peace.”
Because Australians are living longer and many adult children are facing an ongoing housing, employment or cost-of-living crisis, the “sandwich” now sometimes has three or even four layers. You may find a 65-year-old paying for private home care visits for their 90-year-old parent and helping a 30-something son or daughter with rent, mental health support, or groceries. In some extreme cases, grandchildren or in-laws may also be part of the loop.
A 2025 Sandwich Generation Report shows that caregivers aged 50+ with dual responsibility are struggling in new ways. And across Australia, roughly 1.5 million people are juggling both roles of caring for children and ageing parents.
In short: the sandwich generation is no longer just a midlife phenomenon. It’s one that now challenges those of us in our 60s whose “golden years” are being tested.
Over-60s on the front line: Real-life portraits
To understand this more fully, you don’t need cold statistics – you need stories:
Mary, 63: Her mother in aged care, her daughter at home
Mary’s 92-year-old mother recently moved into an aged care facility after several falls. She still needs help managing her medications, attending specialist appointments, and dealing with Centrelink or pension paperwork. Meanwhile, Mary’s 35-year-old daughter – after a divorce and job loss – has moved back into Mary’s home, bringing her two teenage kids. The rent she pays is modest, but the help she needs (childcare, counselling, even groceries) quickly adds up. Mary finds her days stretched: between visiting mum, liaising with staff at the nursing home, and helping grandkids with school, she often wonders where her life went.
Alan, 68: Dad needs home care, son can’t afford rent
Alan’s father fell and fractured a hip. He insists he wants to stay at home, but now needs help with personal hygiene, meal prep, and physiotherapy. Alan arranges in-home carers, but still visits daily to check medications, talk with nurse co-ordinators, and intervene when systems break down. Meanwhile, his 30-year-old son, an early childhood teacher earning modest wages, is stuck in the rental trap. The bond between them is strong – Alan feels he can’t walk away or refuse help. So, he supplements his son’s rent, answers his phone calls at night, and cajoles him into saving where possible. Alan thought retirement meant more freedom; instead, he’s on call 24/7.
The strains stacking up
Let’s unpack why this dual responsibility is such a strain – emotionally, physically, financially – and why it’s threatening the retirement dreams many of us once held dear.
Emotional load: Guilt, frustration, and identity
At the heart of caregiving lies a private battle of guilt. Are you doing enough? Should you be pushing your child harder toward independence? Are you neglecting your ageing parent by insisting they use formal care services? Many over-60s find themselves oscillating between founder guilt (toward children) and filial guilt (toward parents). And then there’s burnout, a creeping fatigue that accumulates not over weeks but years.
Imagine waking up in the night worrying whether mum took her pills, or whether your child managed to pay the electric bill. That mental load – the constant background stress – is one of the most exhausting dimensions of this sandwich. When caregiving becomes your identity, it’s hard to remember who you are.
Physical demands: Age doesn’t pause just because you are caring
We’re older now. Our joints creak. Our energy waxes and wanes. Yet many find themselves driving back and forth between two households, lifting, bending, negotiating mobility aids, even stepping in for a carer when one doesn’t turn up. A slipped disc, a sprained ankle, or an unresolved back pain can send weeks of care planning back to square one.
Some over-60 caregivers tell me they feel they age faster than they should – each wrinkle or ache seems magnified by the exhaustion of performing beyond their physical limits.
Financial strain: The invisible toll on retirement plans
This is where the pressure often turns to crisis. Retirement planning assumes some stability: modest income from pensions, superannuation, perhaps part-time work, and modest day-to-day expenses. But the sandwich dynamic distorts that:
Many over-60s find themselves paying for aged care, home care, mobility aids, renovations (ramps, rails), medicines, and in some cases supplements to bring care up to standard.
At the same time, they may be transferring regular funds to adult children – rent support, groceries, or even paying down a student loan.
Meanwhile, both ageing parents and children may require financial help with bills, healthcare, home modifications, or counselling.
All these demands chip away at retirement nest eggs, push people to delay travel or downsizing, or even force them to return to part-time work – reducing freedom just when we hoped to enjoy the fruits of decades of effort.
In fact, one takeaway from the 2025 sandwich report is that many caregivers delay their own elective surgeries, defer social travel, or downscale leisure so that care demands can be met.
Unique stressors for Australians Over 60
In Australia especially, there are particular hurdles that amplify the burden:
Centrelink and aged care bureaucracy: Understanding pension eligibility, navigating Home Care Packages, applying for the Commonwealth Home Support Program, or negotiating aged care fees is a maze. Over-60s caring for both generations often shuttle between Centrelink, MyGov portals, Recipients of Carer Payment/Allowance, and aged care providers – a full-time administration job in itself.
Unpredictability of rental, housing and economic pressures: With skyrocketing rent and house prices, many adult children can’t get a foot in the door. That means returning home becomes more than “temporary” – it can extend indefinitely. So the “child support” never ends; it morphs into long-term subsidy.
Health systems and delays: When the parent needs a hip replacement, their hospital stay might be prolonged; rehabilitative care may be in limbo. The caregiver often becomes intermediary, advocate, errand runner – even liaison with specialists and allied health.
Isolation and invisibility: Because many caregivers are “invisible” – they are not professional carers or in a clinic – their stress often goes unacknowledged by neighbours, friends, or even family. They may think, “I’m only doing what any good child or parent would do,” which deepens the internal burden.
When retirement dreams stutter or collapse
Retirement was supposed to be a reprieve: time for travel, gardens, grandchildren, community, grandchildren, hobbies. Instead, many in their 60s are waking to a different horizon: stretching their funds to cover two generations, pacing themselves to manage energy, scheduling every minute around care windows.
Some postpone elective travel until the parent’s health stabilises. Others abandon plans to downsize their home, realising that a one-level house is needed in case mom or dad moves in temporarily. Some return to casual work not for the love of extra income but sheer survival. Meanwhile, mental health can take a hit: depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, resentment, grief for the life one expected.
In short: the sandwich generation in your 60s can feel more like debt than fulfillment.
What this week will cover (and why it matters)
Over the rest of the week, we’ll dive into the slices of this sandwich:
Friday: Stories from Sandwichers: Real voices, lessons learned, advice you can take away.
Your experience matters
If this piece resonates – if you, or someone you know, is navigating the sandwich in your 60s – we’d love to hear your story. Drop me an email at editor@startsat60.com You’re not alone. This week, we’ll be unpacking that feeling of being stretched – and exploring how to hold on to hope, dignity, and a future that still belongs to you.
In 2025, being part of the sandwich generation no longer belongs only to middle age. For many over-60s, it’s a lived reality: caring for ageing parents while still lending a hand to adult children. The emotional, physical and financial costs are heavy. Retirement dreams are often delayed, deferred – or dimmed.
But it’s also a moment of invitation: to speak openly, plan boldly, lean on supports, and reshape the narrative around ageing, care, and intergenerational kindness.
If you’re caught between two generations, I hope this week gives you insight, comfort – and perhaps, some practical tools to ease the squeeze.