Caught in the Middle

The Long-Term Care Squeeze No One Is Ready For

There’s a moment many adults never see coming. One day you’re raising kids, pushing toward career goals, maybe planning for your own retirement. And then suddenly you’re coordinating doctor visits for a parent, helping them with daily tasks, managing medications, or having conversations you never imagined having.

Welcome to the reality of the sandwich generation, a growing group squeezed on both sides, supporting children while caring for aging parents.

It’s emotional. It’s overwhelming. And it’s expensive.

But at the heart of this growing crisis is something most families don’t talk about early enough: long-term care.

The Love Is Real. The Cost Is Too.

The stories behind the statistics are deeply human. A daughter quits her job to bring her father home after a fall. A son burns through savings to cover in-home help for a mother with dementia. A family declines services because they simply “can’t afford the care Dad needs.”

This is playing out across the country.

According to recent caregiving surveys, more than half of family caregivers go into debt supporting aging loved ones. Many try to provide care themselves because professional options feel financially impossible. And yet the need for care doesn't disappear, it only grows.

These aren’t isolated stories. They’re the new normal.

Long-Term Care Isn’t Just a Medical Issue - It’s a Financial One

Long-term care isn’t about fixing a medical problem. It’s about helping a person live their daily life safely and with dignity. That includes:

• Home health aides
• Adult day programs
• Assisted living
• Memory care
• Nursing homes
• Respite care for family caregivers

And here’s the wake-up call: none of this is cheap.

A private room in a nursing home can exceed $100,000 a year. Assisted living often costs $50,000 or more. Even part-time in-home care can run thousands of dollars each month.

Most families simply aren’t prepared, emotionally or financially.

That's why so many adult children are forced to step in. Not necessarily because they planned to, but because long-term care was never discussed, never funded, and never put into the family financial plan.

“We Love Our Dad… But” The Stress No One Wants to Admit

Recent statistics highlights a painful truth caregivers often whisper but rarely say out loud:

“We love our dad. But we need to support our own families.”

Love doesn’t remove the financial pressure. And when families have no long-term-care plan in place, the burden falls on the next generation.

The result?

• Lost income
• Increased debt
• Delayed retirement
• Emotional exhaustion
• Family conflict
• Resentment no one wants to acknowledge

Caregivers often feel like they’re failing their parents and failing their kids, all at once. That’s the emotional math of long-term care when no plan exists.

Why Planning Early Changes Everything

Only 17% of adults have had meaningful conversations with parents about long-term care. That means 83% are waiting until a health crisis forces decisions that are rushed, expensive, and limited.

The lack of planning forces adult children to become the default long-term care strategy. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

A long-term care plan:

• Protects your parents’ dignity
• Protects your finances
• Protects your marriage
• Protects your children
• Protects your retirement

And most importantly, it protects the relationships that matter most.

The Shock Most Families Discover Too Late

People assume Medicare pays for long-term care.

It doesn’t.

Medicare covers medical recovery, not custodial care like bathing, eating, supervision, or dementia-related needs. And Medicaid? It only kicks in after you spend down assets to poverty levels, which forces families to sacrifice decades of savings.

Without a plan, long-term care becomes a crisis the family absorbs financially, logistically, and emotionally.

Sandwich Generation Math No One Talks About

Imagine this scenario:

• You’re putting two kids through school
• You’re saving for retirement
• You’re managing your own household
• You’re helping support aging parents
• And you’re paying out-of-pocket for care

Now add rising inflation, rising health-care costs, and the fact that people are living longer than previous generations.

That’s the squeeze.

And it’s why long-term care planning is no longer optional, it’s a necessity.

This Isn’t About Fear. It’s About Options.

Families without a long-term care strategy have:

• Fewer choices
• Less control
• Higher expenses
• More stress
• More guilt
• Greater financial risk

Families with a long-term care strategy have:

• A roadmap
• Predictable costs
• Protection for their savings
• Support systems in place
• Less stress and conflict
• Time to focus on being a family, not being caregivers

Planning doesn’t eliminate the challenges. But it changes the experience entirely.

So What Does a Long-Term Care Plan Actually Look Like?

It depends on the family, but generally includes:

1. Conversations about preferences

Where does your parent want care?
Home? Assisted living? Nursing support? Something hybrid?

2. An understanding of realistic costs

Many adults underestimate long-term care costs by over 50%.
Financial educators can help families map out real numbers, not guesses.

3. Insurance or asset-based long-term care strategies

Today’s long-term care planning tools can provide:

• Tax-advantaged benefits
• Flexible payout options
• Protection if care is never needed
• Coverage for home care or facility care
• Hybrid life-insurance-based solutions

4. A step-by-step affordability plan

For many families, creating a strategy is not about wealth, it’s about timing.
Smaller monthly premiums today prevent enormous costs later.

5. A financial professional guiding every step

Trying to navigate long-term care on your own is overwhelming.
Working with someone who understands the options gives families clarity and confidence.

Why a Financial Professional Matters More Than Ever

Families don’t fail at long-term care because they don’t care.
They fail because no one taught them what long-term care really means.

This is where a financial professional becomes invaluable.

They help you:

• Run the numbers
• Prepare for costs realistically
• Understand what insurance covers
• Compare policies
• Integrate long-term care with retirement planning
• Protect your children from inheriting the burden
• Create a strategy that makes sense for your situation

Financial literacy turns fear into preparedness and stress into strategy.

You Can Protect Yourself. You Can Protect Your Parents. You Can Protect Your Kids.

The sandwich generation often feels like they’re being crushed between two responsibilities. But with a long-term care plan in place, that pressure eases. Instead of reacting to emergencies, families move forward with clarity and calm.

Imagine:

• Not having to quit your job
• Not burning through savings
• Not arguing about who pays for what
• Not panicking during health decisions
• Not sacrificing your retirement to pay for care

That’s what planning makes possible.

The Future Belongs to Families Who Prepare

No one wants to burden their kids. No child wants to feel trapped by circumstances they never planned for. Long-term care is more predictable than people realize, but only if you plan for it early.

You can’t control aging. You can’t control health events. But you can control whether you face them unprepared or empowered.

This is the moment to start.

A WealthWave financial professional can walk you through the options, show you how long-term care integrates with your 7 Money Milestones, and help you create a strategy that protects everyone involved, including you.

Because long-term care isn’t just something older people need to think about one day.
It’s something families need to plan for today.

If you’re ready to protect your future and your family, it’s time to start the conversation.