Nearly 9 Million UK Adults Help Older Relatives With Living Costs and Care

Financial help in families increasingly flows in both directions. Nearly 9 million UK adults—16% of the public surveyed—said they provide money to older family members, while advisers also see the practice becoming more common. For households already balancing their own costs and future plans, that help can become a lasting part of the budget.

The figures come from Canada Life’s multi-year Life100+ research programme, based on a survey of more than 2,000 members of the UK public and 240 financial advisers. More than a third of advisers surveyed, 36%, said financial support for older relatives had become more common. The research points to a shift from the familiar pattern of older generations helping younger ones: adults are also stepping in to meet the costs their parents and other older relatives face.

Everyday expenses lead the list

Among people helping older relatives, 61% contribute towards everyday living costs. That is the most common form of help recorded in the research, ahead of payments for care at home and property upkeep. It also suggests that family assistance is not limited to one-off emergencies: for many, it goes towards ordinary expenses that recur.

More than a third of those providing help, 35%, contribute to the cost of care at home. A similar share, 33%, help pay for property maintenance and repairs. Those expenses can arise alongside day-to-day bills, so relatives may face several requests over time rather than a single clear amount to plan around.

The study does not give the amount each person contributes or how long support lasts. That makes the headline share useful for understanding how common the issue may be, but it cannot show what the commitment looks like in any one household. Families will have different needs, resources and arrangements.

When help spans generations

One in ten UK adults surveyed said they belong to the “sandwich generation”: they provide financial help to both older and younger family members. Adults aged 25 to 44 were the group most likely to be supporting relatives at both ends of the family tree.

That can put several goals in competition. A person might be helping with a parent’s regular bills while also meeting housing costs, paying for children’s needs and setting money aside for their own retirement. The pressure may be less about one payment than about fitting an uncertain family commitment around expenses and goals that already matter.

Here’s the practical budgeting question: what can the household afford to give without relying on money needed for essential bills or its own longer-term plans? A conversation about the type of help needed, how often it may be required and what the giver can manage can make the commitment clearer. These are planning prompts, not a promise that the need or cost will stay fixed.

Talk before decisions become urgent

Most advisers surveyed backed family conversations about later-life plans. In the research, 87% agreed it was important for older people to share their plans with family, and 94% said open and honest conversations about later life were important.

Those views highlight why discussing money before a crisis can help families understand the choices ahead. Relatives can talk about expected retirement income, possible care needs, home repairs and how they hope to handle assets they may pass on. A useful discussion can also clarify what remains uncertain and who may be able to help with planning.

Rose St Louis, Canada Life’s chief customer officer, said longer lives are making the traditional flow of family financial help less clear-cut. She said advisers need to consider the emotional as well as financial strain, and that, where appropriate, including more than one generation in planning conversations earlier may help families weigh later-life costs, retirement income and inheritance.

For anyone already providing help, the takeaway is to make the commitment visible in the household budget and revisit it as circumstances change. For families who haven’t discussed later-life costs, starting with the expenses that may arise and what each person can realistically contribute can turn an unspoken expectation into a clearer plan.