Sandwich carers struggle with cost of living, says ONS

Almost one in six 'sandwich carers' find it difficult to cope financially and a high proportion are on low incomes, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Sandwich carers are defined as people who look after sick, disabled or older adult relatives as well as their dependent children.

The ONS found that those caring for 20 hours or more per week were more likely to report struggles with money. A quarter of this group said they found it difficult to get by, and 17% said they had run out of food in the last 12 months because of a lack of money (compared to 8% of all sandwich carers).

Around half (53%) of sandwich carers reported that they were unable to work at all or as much as they would like because of their caring responsibilities for someone they live with, according to the ONS.

This increased to around three-quarters (74%) for those caring 20 hours or more per week.

Around four in 10 had an annual gross household income of £20,000 or less, compared with 32% of all adults. Those providing more hours of care had even lower incomes, according to the ONS. Sandwich carers were also more likely to report 'family care' or 'home' as their employment status than all adults (13% compared with 3%).

Caring for two sets of family members also took its toll on people's mental health, the ONS found. Around three in 10 indicated some evidence of depression or anxiety compared with 24% of all adults.

Almost a fifth (19%) of sandwich carers said they were currently diagnosed with depression, compared with 13% of all adults.

The ONS said there were an estimated 1.4 million sandwich carers aged 16 to 64 in the UK between 2021 and 2023, and most of them are female (61%).

Around half (51%) of sandwich carers were aged 45 to 64 years, compared with 40% of parents who do not also provide unpaid care to another adult.

Most provide care for less than 20 hours per week (71%), but a significant proportion (26%) exceed this amount. Many respondents care for dependents in their own home, although a small minority (6%) provide care to relatives both in their own home and in another location.

In last week's budget, the Government increased the earnings threshold on Carer's Allowance, increasing the number of people that could combine working with caring for loved ones.

Mary Bright, group head of social sustainability at Phoenix Group, said this was a positive step forward, "allowing carers to work and earn a little more without losing financial support".

"As our population ages, a rapidly growing number of people aged 40 and over are now caring for loved ones across multiple generations," she said.

"This puts them at particular risk of falling out of paid work and becoming financially vulnerable in later life."

She pointed to Phoenix research showing that 45% of unpaid carers over the age of 55 struggle to meet day-to-day living costs, and urged employers to offer more flexibility and, if possible, paid carer's leave to older workers.

She said: "We also urge all employers that can offer comprehensive flexible work policies and 10 days' paid carer's leave to help retain skills and experience in their workforce, by enabling more carers to stay in good, paid work for longer and build up their retirement savings."

Earlier this year, analysis by the GMB union found that care workers lost £3,700 in pay last year on average.