IF you’re a struggling young person optimistically hoping for a wealthier future, Australia’s “sandwich generation” has a dire warning.

A growing slice of older workers are not only supporting their children, but also ageing parents who are living longer than ever.

Jon, 43, has been helping to care for his disabled mother Elizabeth since he was in primary school. When he was 19, after she had been divorced for a few years, he realised she could not rent or secure a home loan on her own — but he could help her.

“She was on a disability pension after she was divorced because she has a brain condition that doesn’t allow her to work” he told news.com.au. “My mum was never going to be able to afford her own house, so we entered a mortgage together. It was a responsibility I was willing to take.”

But by committing to paying one-third of his mother’s mortgage payments for her Adelaide home, he was no longer eligible for the Government’s First Home Buyer’s Grant when he wanted to purchase a place of his own.

The problem reached a tipping point when he realised he would have to get a second job to be able to afford a first home for his family at the age of 37. The average first-home buyer is aged between 30 and 33.

So in 2010, the teacher from Melbourne’s eastern suburbs began working as a waiter and chef on Friday and Saturday nights to supplement his income and get on to the property ladder.

“I realised I needed an additional income so my kids could have these sporting events and clubs that have to be paid for,” he said. “I was having to get a few hundred extra a week. We had to take the plunge to get into a market that was fast getting away from us. The prices have been skyrocketing.

“It’s not just going to affect people in my situation. The booming housing market has to be not just legislated but auditing put in place so people can’t get through the hoops.

“The Government needs to be more strict or tighten up the follow-up in the auditing process and give a battling Aussie a go.”

He and his wife got used to “careful budgeting” — hanging on to old phones, covering their tatty old sofa with throws and clothing their three daughters in hand-me-downs.

Two years ago, 71-year-old Elizabeth moved into aged care after 20 years of relying on Jon’s support. The father of three says his family is a little better off today. His 41-year-old wife is back at work, he has returned to just doing one job and his mother’s mortgage is paid off, but he has to think about the future.

His daughters, now aged 15, 13 and 10, may need financial help with university; his mum’s health remains a concern and he and his wife eventually want to pay off their mortgage and retire with some money for their old age.

“I’m very pragmatic in many ways, having put an older head on younger shoulders many years ago,” he said. “I do what needs to be done.”

But Jon admits he wishes there had been another option for Elizabeth to enter a longer mortgage repayment plan to give her extra time and allow him to get his family off to a better financial start.

His case is still not the norm, but with families increasingly having to care for ageing parents and housing prices skyrocketing, it is becoming more common. The retirement age is being pushed back and experts predict first home buyers will be in their 40s or 50s within a decade, with the cost of education rising, too.

A REST Industry Super report has discovered a staggering level of intergenerational dependency among Australians, with $500 billion given up and down the family tree.

Of this, the majority (72 per cent) goes to adult children to help with education costs ($109.0bn), everyday expenses ($93.1bn) and home deposits ($68.5bn). And these squeezed Australians were also providing financial assistance to ageing parents for medical and health expenses (14 per cent).

This responsibility means almost half of all Australians approaching retirement have a high level of debt, with a quarter retiring with credit card debt and a fifth with a mortgage.

“It’s clear that many Australians aren’t living the retirement that they wanted,” said REST CEO Damian Hill. “While our research shows older working Australians are expecting a relatively high standard of living in retirement, this expectation could be derailed by the growing debt burden, particularly when funds are being diverted to adult children.”

So forget about that wealthy old age. Australians are likely to find themselves trapped in the sandwich generations as they grow older.

emma.reynolds@news.com.au