From new parents to aging parents

Over the last decade, many employers expanded parental leave programs beyond compliance requirements and made them part of a broader recruiting and retention strategy.

Now, a growing number of those same employees who received unprecedented support during the transition into parenthood are entering a different stage of caregiving.

Roughly one in four U.S. adults is part of the “sandwich generation,” where prime working years coincide with the dual responsibilities of childcare and eldercare.¹ For employees, that can mean years of ongoing pressure as they balance caregiving and professional responsibilities.

Family leave laws already allow employees to take time away to care for relatives under many circumstances. But as eldercare needs increase alongside an aging population, leave entitlements alone may not provide the support caregiving employees need to stay in the workforce. Employers may need to broaden offerings to include eldercare employee benefits and employer‑sponsored eldercare programs that go beyond leave.

Eldercare follows a different pattern than parental leave

While parental leave is triggered by a single event and follows a predictable timeline, eldercare is often intermittent and spread across years. That can make it harder for employers to predict, though in some cases easier to plan around.

Rather than extended periods of paid leave, employer support for eldercare may take the form of temporary flexibility, intermittent time off, or support systems that help employees stay at work even as caregiving responsibilities fluctuate.

The employee experience is different, too. The average age of first-time parents in the U.S. is roughly 27, while eldercare responsibilities often come into play later, as employees move into their peak career years.² This means caregiving pressures often affect employees who hold management responsibilities, technical expertise, client relationships, or institutional knowledge employers cannot easily replace.

Leave laws don’t solve the entire problem

Family leave protections already cover a range of caregiving scenarios, but protected leave alone may not address the ongoing flexibility employees need as caregiving responsibilities intensify and ease over time.

Existing legal protections may also fall short when caregiving turns into bereavement; currently, Colorado is the only state with a standalone bereavement leave requirement.

As eldercare pressures grow, employers may find that being compliant with FMLA does not fully address the workforce and retention issues caregiving can create. Integrating eldercare employee benefits and employer‑sponsored eldercare options into a benefits strategy may help bridge that gap.

Eldercare support as a demographic imperative

Employers spent years building parental leave benefits designed to support employees through the transition into parenthood, in part to attract and retain talent. That trend was driven largely by a tight labor market rather than a sudden demographic surge in births.

By contrast, eldercare support is likely to become more important as the population ages and workforce pressures grow. By 2030, one in five Americans will be over age 65.³

Retention may become a bigger challenge than recruitment as caregiving responsibilities increase across the workforce.

Employers may respond outside traditional leave design

For employers, eldercare support may ultimately require a broader flexibility and support strategy, not just a leave strategy.

The median cost of long-term eldercare in the U.S. has outpaced inflation for the past two decades and can be difficult for many families to afford.⁴ As a result, a substantial share of long-term eldercare is provided at home, often with support from family members who balance caregiving alongside full-time work.

The cost of long-term eldercare is already shaping how employers think about support. In many cases, organizations are focusing on internal workplace accommodations such as flexibility policies, intermittent time off, and manager training focused on recurring caregiving disruptions.

Employers that invest in eldercare support are increasingly directing those dollars toward referral and navigation services. These services help employees coordinate care logistics, locate providers, navigate insurance and healthcare systems, and plan for the long-term care needs of aging relatives. Only 14% of employers currently offer eldercare referral and navigation services, although adoption has increased over the past five years.⁵

As the U.S. population continues to age, employee demand for eldercare support is likely to increase, and employers across many sectors are likely to feel the effects. To keep pace with the challenges of an aging population, organizations may benefit from building support systems before eldercare pressures begin to affect retention and day-to-day operations.

Sources: 

1. Pew Research Center. “More than half of Americans in their 40s are sandwiched between an aging parent and their own children.” 2022.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Births: Provisional Data for 2023. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2024.
3. Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, University of Virginia. “National Population Projections.” 2024.
4. Abelson, Reed and Jordan Rau. “The Crushing Cost of Long-Term Care in America.” The New York Times. November 14, 2023.
5. Abelson, Reed and Jordan Rau. “The Crushing Cost of Long-Term Care in America.” The New York Times. November 14, 2023.