When Mr Chan Wei Lun, 37, welcomed his first child two months ago, he felt joy and excitement – and apprehension.

His concern: Expenses. “It feels like we are constantly spending money,” says Mr Chan, who works in customer service in the hospitality industry.

Expenses started piling up as soon as he and his wife discovered they were expecting. From doctor’s visits to maternity clothes and hiring a confinement nanny, the couple quickly realised that having a child was going to be more costly than they thought.

The arrival of the baby girl also puts Mr Chan and his wife within the “sandwich generation” – those who find themselves caring for young children while supporting elderly parents.

Mr Chan and his wife earn a combined monthly income of about $7,000, of which 20 per cent is given to both sets of parents as allowance.

“For the sandwich generation, the dual financial responsibilities (taking care of their young children and ageing parents) become a juggling act that can be quite stressful,” says Ms Linda Ong, assistant vice-president, Financial Services, Manulife Advisory Group.

Manulife Advisory Group is a group of agencies representing Manulife Singapore.

“Expenses can range from day-to-day expenditure such as groceries and transport, to medical bills and even long-term caregiving responsibilities,” she explains.

Ms Ong, 38, has been in the financial advisory industry for nine years. Most (80 per cent) of her clients are aged between 30 and 50.

Feeling the squeeze

Knowing that expenditure can only increase as their child grows older, Mr Chan and his wife are now more conscious about their spending.

“For example, we try to minimise dining out,” says Mr Chan. “Even when we do, we would go for cheaper options.

“We used to be able to afford our expenses comfortably. Now, we are almost living pay cheque to pay cheque.”

Healthcare costs are also a top-of-mind concern for the sandwich generation.

The results of the Manulife Asia Care Survey 2023, released in March, revealed that over half (63 per cent) of Singapore respondents who have young kids said they are also caring for family members who are sick.

Conducted between late December 2022 and early January 2023, the survey polled 1,037 Singapore residents and covered 7,224 respondents in seven markets across Asia.

Money is the second-most cited cause of anxiety (21 per cent) among those who are taking care of sick family members and young kids. The most cited cause (25 per cent) is the fear of being unable to provide proper care for family members should they, as caregivers, fall ill or die.

Ms Joyce Lee, 33, shares that her household monthly expenses have increased by 30 per cent since the birth of her firstborn, who is now a year old.

“It’s currently manageable, but my main worry is my elderly mother’s health,” says Ms Lee, who works as a marketing manager in an education institute.

She explains that her mother, 74, does not have critical illness coverage because she is a cancer survivor.

“She recovered from cancer 15 years ago, but continues to be deemed a high risk by insurers due to her pre-existing condition,” says Ms Lee. “We will have to foot the high medical bills ourselves should she be diagnosed with a critical illness.”

Keeping long-term goals in check

Preoccupied with the immediate pressures of parenthood and the need to care for ageing parents, many of those in the sandwich generation can end up neglecting their own long-term financial planning.

Mr Chan shares that he and his wife have yet to start thinking about their retirement needs. “With my workload and parenting responsibilities, we currently don’t have the mental capacity to think so far ahead,” he says.

The couple will soon be celebrating another milestone: buying their first home. “We are living with my wife’s family, and it has been quite a squeeze with five persons (including the baby) in a four-room HDB (Housing Board) flat.

“By having our own house, we will be able to provide a more spacious and conducive environment for our daughter to grow up in,” he says.

Last month, the couple applied for the sale of balance exercise, with hopes of securing a four-room HDB flat in Tengah. Expecting the down payment and renovation costs to take a toll on their finances, Mr Chan and his wife have decided to delay their retirement planning by two years.

Manulife’s Ms Ong observes that many young parents in their 20s and 30s often think that they “still have a lot of time left to save up for retirement”.

This is underscored by the Manulife study, which revealed that only 60 per cent of parents with young children are actively saving for retirement.

But losing out on even just a few years can have a big impact, says Ms Ong. This is because a large part of retirement planning leverages compounding interest to grow your money over time.

“When you start investing early, you get to reinvest the money earned from your investments to generate more potential returns.”

Setting aside money for long-term goals such as retirement can also help you feel more secure about your financial future and reduce stress about money, she says.

But Ms Ong acknowledges that it can be challenging to think about retirement planning when one is bogged down by more immediate financial needs.

“Therein lies the importance of scheduling regular check-ins (which can be up to twice a year) with their financial consultants, who can offer an objective view and a reality check,” Ms Ong says.

“Every little step matters. Work with your financial consultant to identify areas of unnecessary spending, and see if you can allocate even just a couple of hundred dollars every month to your retirement funds,” she advises.

This is the fifth of a nine-part series titled “Your wealth and well-being”, in partnership with Manulife Singapore.