Charity Grandparents Plus has found that young grandparents caring for their grandchildren or their own elderly parents are increasingly facing poverty.

A third of grandparents under 55 years old in the UK are struggling financially. Also, there was an increase in ‘gran-carers’ living alone on low incomes.

The report is called the Poor Generation?, and describes an ‘invisible generation’ that is caught between what their children, grandchildren and their parents need. Sam Smethers of the charity says it “challenges the cosy image we have of the retired grandparent.”

Those who have four or five generation families that are single, working class grandmothers are finding themselves particularly trapped in their obligations to look after people, getting caught in the cycle of living on a low income and acting as unpaid carers.

Torn Obligations

Ms Smethers adds: “For many, particularly ‘gran-carers’ who are of working age, on low incomes and who provide most of the childcare, it’s a real struggle.

They get no help with the challenge of combining work and care. As a result we see them taking low-paid, part-time work or dropping out of the labour market altogether.”

The overall trend of today’s society is for women to have children later in life which in turn pushes back the age of people becoming grandparents. But this report highlights the group at the opposite end of the scale.

There are1.5 million grandparents under the age of 50. Most of these are from less affluent families.

The report shows that younger grandparents are usually lone grandmothers and are three times more financially stretched than those with partners.

Rights For Carer Grandparents

It also shows that the number of single grandparents has doubled in the last ten years, and the number of grandparents on low incomes has risen by a third.

Single children of young grandparents will be particularly dependent and half of such children will rely primarily on grandparents to provide childcare.

The charity asks that carer grandparents be able to work flexible hours, and that they can have ‘granny leave’ when a grandchild is born. They also want grandparents to be eligible for childcare benefit if it allows the child’s parent to work.

Ms Smethers says: “Although overall the grandparent generation is getting older, it is younger, working-class grandparents who are most likely to suffer financial hardship.

“We want this reality to be recognised by paying grandparents through the tax credit system for the childcare they provide.”

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