2024 Senior Financial Dependency Study

With rising costs and family needs evolving, more adults choose to support their parents financially. More than half of American adults surveyed by Caring.com claimed at least one aging parent on their taxes in 2024, citing their parents' low income and insufficient savings or investments as primary reasons for becoming caregivers. Many are also raising or supporting children of their own, placing them squarely in the "sandwich generation."

 

Caring.com surveyed 4,000 American adults aged 25 or older to measure how many are claiming their parents as dependents on their taxes this year. The survey found that more than 50% of those with at least one living parent, and 1 in 3 respondents overall, will claim them on their taxes this year. When asked why, more than 40% of respondents cite their parents' insufficient savings and income in today's current economy. Further, 1 in 3 say their parents can't afford medical expenses and senior care.

Of the adults who claim their parents on their taxes, 3 out of 4 also have at least one child dependent, making them part of the "sandwich generation" responsible for caring for and financially supporting both their parents and their children.

"As the baby boomer generation continues to age, we see how stretched thin the sandwich generation truly is," says John Farrell, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at Caring.com. "Add to this recent economic shocks, growing income disparity, and a tight labor market, and you have a perfect recipe for a caregiver crisis. We talk with caregivers every day who are trying to hold down a job, provide for their children, and care for their aging parents at the same time."

We recently found that 72% of Gen Z respondents plan to become caregivers to an aging parent in the future. Only 10% said they wouldn't provide care, and about one-third of that group pointed to financial limitations as the main reason. 

Caring.com created this survey to raise awareness of the financial pressures that caregivers face as they provide for their senior parents and children. For more information on the burden caregivers face, you can read our 2025 Caregiver Burnout Report. Caring.com is committed to supporting caregivers with guidance, vital resources, and tangible solutions.

To help shed light on the financial challenges facing American families as reflected by their tax-dependent status, Caring.com partnered with Pollfish to survey more than 4,000 American adults over the age of 24 to determine if they're claiming their parent(s) as a dependent on their taxes, along with when they started doing so and why. We conducted the survey online on March 14-16, 2024.

When survey respondents were asked in which year they first claimed their parents as dependents on their tax returns, 28% said they did so for the first time this year on their 2023 tax return. An additional 25% did so for the first time on their 2022 tax return. This may indicate a correlation between rising inflation and seniors’ decreased ability to support themselves financially, in addition to the potential fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asked what the primary reasons were for their parents’ financial dependency, many adults point to the state of the U.S. economy – 4 out of 10 say they are financially supporting their parents because their parents’ savings, investments and income, including Social Security payments, are insufficient to cover the current cost of living.

35% of respondents said their parents’ medical expenses or debt has overwhelmed their finances, and an additional 35% said their parents depend on them financially because they can’t afford senior living or senior care expenses. Worryingly, 1 in 5 seniors are financially dependent on their children because they were the victim of a fraud or scam.

However, almost half of the respondents indicated that a primary reason for financially supporting their parents is a feeling of responsibility to provide for them as they age. Among adults with senior parents who are claiming them on their taxes, 3 out of 4 have at least one parent living with them in their family home.

74% of those who claim their parents on their taxes indicated that they also claimed one or more children on their 2023 tax return. These adults belong to the “sandwich generation,” named for their role in supporting and caring for both their elderly parents and their children.

Notably, 33% of those in the “sandwich generation” are financially supporting at least one Gen Z child over the age of 18.

When asked why they had to claim their adult child as a dependent in 2023, 4 out of 10 parents said their Gen Z child was unemployed, and 37% said their child had made poor financial decisions or had too much debt to support themself financially. However, the number one reason given was that their adult child was a full-time student, with 55% citing this as the leading factor for their child’s financial dependency.

This survey makes it clear that many seniors and their loved ones face serious financial pressures, such as affording senior living or grappling with medical debt. While some seniors in the workforce choose to remain employed for financial independence, not all older adults can do so. If you or a loved one needs financial assistance, you can read the following guides to learn more about what resources may be available to you.

• Financial Resources To Help Low-Income Seniors When Inflation Is High
• The Ultimate Guide to Government Aid for Seniors
• A Guide to Caregiver Finances
• How to Pay for Assisted Living
• Assisted Living and Cost Statistics

For more senior care research on finances, well-being, caregiving, and more, check out our surveys and research hub.