The pressures of caring for older relations and children are pulling the in-between generation, or "sandwich" population, in different directions. In Asia, where care for older relations is deeply embedded, financial forces raise uncomfortable questions.

A study of Hong Kong and Singapore people who are “sandwiched” between competing demands of supporting children and older people finds that 70 per cent of them think that offspring shouldn’t have to support parents later in life if they haven’t sufficiently prepared for retirement.

The findings, from a survey issued by St James’s Place Asia, sheds light on how rising generations hold different views about traditional responsibilities for parents in old age. Asia has traditionally had a strong pro-savings culture – arguably far more so than in the modern West. 

Entitled A Generation Under Pressure: Asia’s Sandwich Class, the study of 1,021 members of the sandwich generations in Singapore (520) and Hong Kong (501).

The pressures of supporting parents and children in the sandwich generation remain in Singapore and Hong Kong, with 64 per cent feeling that it is their duty to financially support their parents however much they need, although for 30 per cent this only applies for critical and urgent items.

While caring for parents is a top priority, around two-thirds (64 per cent) in Singapore feel that providing financial support for their parents is hampering their own financial achievements; the figure is 58 per cent for Hong Kong. In both markets, almost two-thirds (65 per cent) also feel this is reducing their ability to save for retirement and the future that they hope for their children.

In fact, more than half (57 per cent) believe that their parents retired too early, and 55 per cent harbour some level of frustration for the financial support they now need to provide for them.

“The fulfilment of care and sense of responsibility for elders is a highly regarded virtue around the world, but particularly in many Asian societies like Singapore. Part of the difficulty in tackling retirement for elderly parents is determining how much they now need when accounting for inflation and rising medical costs,” Gary Harvey, chief executive for SJP Singapore, said. “If you add that to the worries of financially supporting young children as well as navigating ongoing economic uncertainties, the need for this generation to effectively balance these priorities and plan for their future is more important than ever.” 

More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of surveyed people said investing in their children’s future places pressure on other areas of their financial planning. Three in four (75 per cent) are concerned that their children will require and request more financial support than they can provide in the future.

The study shows contrary forces at work: 67 per cent think their children’s financial needs should take precedence over their parents’ but 74 per cent are also concerned about providing children with too much financial support and spoiling them.