The Fact
Pew Research Center found that 45% of U.S. adults ages 50–59 met its sandwich-generation definition in a September 2025 survey. They had a living parent age 65 or older and either a minor child, an adult child they had financially supported in the prior year, or both.
What This Means
The family-support squeeze does not disappear when children reach adulthood. Nearly half of people in their 50s were still positioned between an older parent and a younger generation needing support.
Sources
- Pew Research Center, August 27, 2026, survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 2–8, 2025.