Gen Z Overwhelmingly Willing to Take Care of Their Parents As They Age. But Can They Afford It?

With the help of Pollfish, Caring.com surveyed 1,500 adults across Gen Z, Gen X, and baby boomer generations to learn how adult children plan for senior care. The study highlighted a gap between Gen Z's desire to help their parents financially and their limited understanding of the true financial costs involved, with 60% planning to offer partial or full financial support, but only 16% correctly estimating the cost of senior care. 

As inflation drives up senior care costs, adult children who plan to support their parents financially may benefit from early financial planning and open conversations with family.

Caring.com partnered with PollFish to survey American adults to determine if parents and children have the same expectations for the parents’ future care needs. The survey was completed by 1,500 American adults over the age of 18, evenly split between Gen Z, Gen X, and the Baby Boomer generation. The survey was conducted online on October 3, 2023. 

This study is part of Caring.com's efforts to understand how families plan for senior care, building on previous research and studies about caregiving and senior finances. For full survey results and more information about the survey, contact editorial@caring.com. 

Gen Z often gets a bad rap, with many calling them lazy and self-absorbed by the media and older generations. However, Caring.com's new study shows that Gen Z may be more compassionate than they get credit for. 

Caring.com partnered with Pollfish to survey 1,500 adults — 500 in Gen Z, 500 in Gen X, and 500 in the baby boomer generation. The survey polled the younger group on their plans to care for their parents as they age. The older groups were asked about how involved they anticipate their children being in their future senior care. 

The results showed a discrepancy between the younger generation's plans and parents' expectations. Only 61% of adults in the Gen X and baby boomer generations said they think their children will be involved in their care. Meanwhile, 72% of Gen Z plan to be involved in their parents' care. 

N. Taylor, a 27-year-old member of Gen Z, says of her desire to help her parents in the future, "My parents have given me so much […] It's not just a duty, but an honor to get to help care for them in what ways I can as they get older." 

However, some of the younger generation's willingness to provide care could be due to naiveté about how much effort and money it entails. Many don't realize the potential effects of caregiver burnout on families, including financial difficulties. 

Only 16% of our survey respondents correctly answered when asked about the average annual cost of senior care. And, as the cost of living increases and wages remain stagnant, it's unlikely they'll have enough money to financially support their parents without careful planning and saving for the future. 

"I am concerned that even with their preparation and our contribution, we won't be able to afford the kind of life I would want them to live in their last chapters," says Taylor. 

These concerns demonstrate why talking to your family about and planning for senior care is so important. "The greatest issue plaguing seniors and their families is the lack of preparing and planning early enough," says Susann Crawford, VP of Sales at Caring.com. 

"The costs, capabilities, and availability of services are most often very underestimated and often create a barrier to families and seniors getting what they truly need in a timely manner. Those who have navigated these vast changes in life the best are those who planned and educated themselves early regarding options for their future."

When asked what role they anticipate playing in their parents’ care as they age, 72% of young adults said they anticipate their parents moving in with them or serving as their parents’ primary or supportive caregiver. 

However, parents of Gen Zers do not expect this much help- only 61% said they anticipate their children will have some caregiving role. And while 17% of older adults do not think their children will be involved in their caregiving as they age, only 10% of younger adults do not anticipate having any role in their parents’ care- a 50% difference. 

Of the 72% of young adults who plan to have some part in their parent’s care as they age, many of them expect to have a significant role. In fact, 40% anticipate their parents moving in with them in the future. Meanwhile, only 26% of Gen X and Baby Boomers think they will move in with their children if they need care as they age. 

10% of Gen Z respondents said they have no plan to be involved in their parents’ care as they age. When asked why, 33% of that group said they do not anticipate having the financial resources to do so. 

Meanwhile, many Gen X and Baby Boomers think that their children simply won’t be willing to care for them – 40% of Gen X and Baby Boomers who don’t think their children will care for them said they do not think their children will be willing to spend time or resources to do so. However, only 20% of Gen Z gave this as their reason, a 69% difference. 

34% of Gen Z respondents said they plan on fully paying for all future care their parents cannot pay for themselves, and an additional 26% said they plan to offer partial financial support. Meanwhile, only 23% of Gen X and Baby Boomers anticipate that their children will cover any care costs they cannot afford.

Gen Zers have good intentions when it comes to paying for their parents’ senior care, but they grossly underestimate how much that will cost. When asked how much they think they’ll need to pay annually for their parents’ care, only 16% correctly answered $50,000-$70,000. 

And, senior living costs rose by 5.3% in the first quarter of 2023. If this inflation continues, Gen Z will face even higher costs. 

“Inflation is always a formidable issue when considering cost for the future… As people saving/preparing to support our own family and then planning to potentially help care for our parents as best as we can, it can feel like an uphill battle trying to invest, pay for a home, and support a decent life. All the while, we both have to work jobs with pay levels that are being quickly overtaken by the most basic entry-level job positions, due to the increasing cost of living” says 27-year-old Taylor. 

As the survey data shows, many adults and their children are not on the same page when it comes to the parents’ future care needs. A lot of the confusion could be due to a lack of communication and openness- fewer than 40% of Gen X and Baby Boomers have discussed their future care needs with their children, and only 10.5% have a plan in place for caregiving and/or financial support. 

Having open and honest discussions as a family about your wishes for any needed care in the future can ensure you’re all preparing while there’s still time to do so. But, we understand that this is easier said than done. Aging is a complicated topic to discuss and can bring up a lot of fear and uncertainty. 

To help you through these challenging situations, we’ve outlined some tips for starting the conversation about senior care with your family. Then we discuss some actionable suggestions so you can take the first steps toward planning for your future.

After talking to your family about your care, you’ll want to start preparing. Some ways to get started include: 

At the time of this survey, Genworth reports an average assisted living cost in the United States of $4,500/month, or $54,000/year. More recent assisted living data shows that the average costs exceed $70,000 annually. Costs for care at home range from an average of $4,957/month for personal care and household assistance to $5,148/month for home health care services, $59,484 and $61,776/year, respectively.

Nursing home care is even more expensive, at $7,908-$9,034/month, though Medicare and Medicaid can help cover these costs. Given that the above figures are national averages, some people will face higher or lower costs depending on their location. Thus, our estimate for the annual cost of regular senior care is $50,000-$70,000.