NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast
Managing the Job Market and Your Parents’ Finances: Tips for the Sandwich Generation
Thu, 20 Mar 2025
Learn how to juggle finances for aging parents and kids, plus what the latest labor market data means for your wallet. How do you navigate the financial challenges of caring for aging parents while raising kids? How should the job market impact your financial decisions? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola break down the realities of the sandwich generation and the latest labor market trends shaping Americans’ financial outlook. They begin with a discussion of how economic sentiment differs from reality, exploring new data on job security, wage growth, and job seekers' frustrations. Senior news writer Anna Helhoski and NerdWallet economist Elizabeth Renter join to discuss how people’s perceptions of the labor market compare to actual employment data and why younger workers feel the impact of job market shifts more acutely. Then, NerdWallet Medicare authority and certified senior advisor (CSA)® Kate Ashford joins to tackle the financial challenges of managing aging parents’ finances while also raising children. They discuss essential conversations to have with loved ones, strategies for handling medical and long-term care costs, and the importance of estate planning and power of attorney. Read NerdWallet’s new report looking at our perception of how things are relative to what they really are: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/labor-market-sentiment In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: managing parents’ finances, sandwich generation financial planning, how to care for aging parents financially, power of attorney for parents, how to talk to parents about money, estate planning for parents, best way to pay for long-term care, Medicare vs Medicaid long-term care, financial help for caregivers, how to manage caregiving costs, labor market trends 2025, job market outlook 2025, job market for Gen Z, wage growth vs inflation, worker sentiment survey, hiring trends 2025, job security in 2025, financial stress of caregiving, balancing kids and elderly parents, generational wealth planning, how to talk to family about money, financial stress and mental health, caregiving while working full-time, and budgeting for multi-generational households. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected]. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend.
Chapter 1: What is the sandwich generation and how does it impact finances?
Elizabeth, do you enjoy sandwiches? I do enjoy sandwiches, Sean. And actually, I had a fire chicken sandwich two days ago and I had an egg sandwich yesterday. And of course, no cheese because we are lactose intolerant over here.
You know, for me, I'm all about a classic PB&J, preferably with chunky peanut butter. But today we're going to talk about a different kind of sandwich, the financial one that you can find yourself in when you're of a certain age. Welcome to NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them with the help of our genius nerds. I'm Sean Piles.
And I'm Elizabeth Ayola.
This episode, we're looking at how to help manage the finances of aging parents while also caring for children.
Mmm, the sandwich generation. I am inching my way closer to that cohort.
Exactly. But first, our weekly money news roundup, where we break down the latest in the world of finance to help you be smarter with your money.
Today, we're talking about the labor market and how we, the public, are feeling about the economy. NerdWallet actually has a new report looking at our perception of how things are relative to what they really are. Our news colleague, Anna Helhosky, is here with more. Hey, Ana. Hey, Elizabeth.
Ana, this was a big topic of conversation last fall, right? During election season in particular, economists were saying, hey, the U.S. economy is doing pretty darn well, while voters were saying, no, no, it's not, at least not where we live.
Yeah, that's right. And the disconnect continues. So I'm joined by NerdWallet economist, Elizabeth Renter. Welcome back, Elizabeth.
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Chapter 2: How is the current job market affecting American workers?
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Again, explore the Range Rover Sport at LandRoverUSA.com. We're back and answering your money questions to help you make smarter financial decisions. This episode's question comes from Kay, who sent us an email. Here it is. Could you please do a podcast with a deeper dive into financial decision-making as a power of attorney for older loved ones while raising kids?
I have several questions about talking to older loved ones and managing their finances in order to support their goals and navigating the systems and care that they need. When it comes to being a power of attorney and navigating the financial decisions, where can I go for information and how do I prioritize which funds to pull from?
I'm thinking about pensions, 401ks, social security, estate slash trust, etc. Is there a recommended amount to pull out in order to make sure there's funds for when they are older and need more care? When navigating the medical care and service needs, how much of that is covered by Medicare versus how much is from their funds slash social security?
To help us answer Kay's question, on this episode of the podcast, we are joined by NerdWallet Medicare Authority and certified senior advisor, Kate Ashford. Kate, welcome back to Smart Money.
Hi, Sean. I'm always happy to be here.
So our listener has a lot of pretty specific questions about managing care for their older loved ones while taking care of little ones, too, something that's known as being in the sandwich generation because you're sandwiched between caring for typically your parents and your own children. This is a pretty common experience. About a quarter of U.S.
adults fit this description, according to the Pew Research Center. Before we get into the nitty gritty of Kay's questions, I want to hear from you, Kate, about what it's like to be in the situation because it's something that you have personal experience with, right? Can you tell us about that?
Yes, actually, I do have experience with this, fortunately or unfortunately. I landed in a long-distance caregiving role a couple of years ago when my stepfather, who was my mom's primary caregiver, got sick and he wasn't able to care for her anymore and she wasn't able to care for herself.
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Chapter 3: Why do personal experiences differ from economic data?
Who has a fax machine now? Right.
Okay. Well, let's talk about healthcare power of attorney. What's the deal with that?
So having health care power of attorney means, as you might expect, you can make health decisions on your parents' behalf. So if they are incapacitated, you can make decisions about their care. And even if they're not incapacitated, being a parent's health care proxy means you can speak to medical professionals about what's going on with them.
When my mom was in the hospital in her state and I was here in New York, I could call and get an update on what was going on with her care. I also had access to her healthcare portal so I could see test results as they rolled in. That was super helpful. That's a password that's nice to have if your parent is willing to share it, particularly if they're sick or getting a lot of medical care.
One of the more granular questions that Kay asks is about funding and which sources to prioritize. If an older loved one has a variety of accounts, like a pension, a 401 , maybe an annuity, are there rules of thumb about which might be better to prioritize drawing from first?
Honestly, this is really going to depend on your parents' financial situation and where they're sitting tax-wise. And this can vary from year to year because there may be years when they have more income, like they've sold a home and they may not need to or want to withdraw as much taxable income. And there'll be other years when they've got more wiggle room or they need to pull more out.
So to the extent that it's possible, a financial advisor or tax professional can really help you here. And advisors are really accessible these days. You can see them in person or online. Some of them charge a percentage of assets or charge by the hour or charge a fee for a one-time consultation.
So you can generally find someone whose services and fee structure kind of match up with what you need. You mentioned sort of a pension and annuity setup. That would usually show up in steady income payments over time. So that's just something to factor into the budget along with whatever they're getting for Social Security.
Let's go a little more into managing and paying for medical care, which can be one of the toughest areas to talk about with a loved one. How can you ensure that they're getting the care that they want and not getting the care they don't want while managing expenses? And how does Medicare fit in, too?
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