Older Adults With Three Generations of Kin: Prevalence, Correlates, and Transfers

We document the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of older adults with three generations of living kin and examine the patterns of transfers among this group compared with those with fewer generations of kin available.

We use the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2010) to estimate kin availability and intergenerational transfers among respondents in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.

It is far more common for older adults to have aging parents, children, and grandchildren than to have just two generations of kin (parents and children). Forty percent of adults in their 50s, 30% of those in their 60s, and 7.5% of those in their 70s have three generations of kin available. Hispanics and the least educated are more likely to have this generational configuration. The vast majority provides financial or in-kind transfers to at least one generation, and a large minority provides support to both older and younger generations.

Although there has been much concern about the strains among those sandwiched between parents and children, it is far more common among older adults to also have grandchildren, and many of these adults are transferring resources both upward and downward to multiple generations.