The “New” Sandwich Generation Need Both Financial and Emotional Support

A demographic shift has been happening since 2000: the Canadian population continues to age and live longer, such that the number of seniors is becoming larger than the number of young people under 20, according to Statistics Canada. Financial advisors need to be concerned about the “new” Sandwich Generation.

This is the group of workers who range in age from their 30s to their 50s and who are raising young families as well as caring for aging parents.

As their financial advisor, you need to be mindful of the fact that the Sandwich Generation are stressed and stretched with the added family responsibilities:

• They are pulled in many emotional directions. They’re feeling the demands from their careers, bosses, peers, personal goals, kids and from their elderly parents and/or parents-in-laws.
• They’re worried about cash flow. Your clients are being pulled in several financial directions — paying off their mortgages, saving for retirement, taxes, insurance costs, living expenses, childcare expenses, secondary education savings, elderly parent healthcare and living expenses.
• They’re worried that a critical illness could affect their child, parent or themselves, which could lead to a leave of absence from work and an added financial burden on their household budget.

And as their financial advisor, you’ll want to initiate a discussion with them that covers the following topics:

• Cash Flow Planning – A re-evaluation of their cash flow to identify where expenditures can be cut, curbed or refinanced
• Financial Risk Management - Creating a robust budget that incorporates an emergency fund, retirement savings, post-secondary education savings, critical illness insurance and mortgage repayment
• Tax planning that ensures that all the possible credits are captured, including childcare, education credits, caregiver tax credit, medical expenses, RESP/RDSP/RRSP credits
• Considerations for estate planning, for both your clients and their elderly parents, including a discussion about setting up a power of attorney if they haven’t already
• Healthcare support, either by taking on supplementary coverage or identifying a need for added life insurance; additional mental and/or physical health support by way of counselling or other therapies

These important conversations may require several meetings to ensure that your clients achieve the best plan for their situation. And it will be well worth the effort, knowing that you have restored much of their peace of mind. 

If you have gaps in the credentials required to help this growing demographic, Knowledge Bureau is here to help:

• The Real Wealth Manager (RWM™) Program
• DFA-Tax Services Specialist™ 
• MFA-Retirement and Estate Services Specialist™

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