'Sandwich Generation' Dilemma: How to Balance Your Own Retirement Needs With Caring...

'Sandwich Generation' Dilemma: How to Balance Your Own Retirement Needs With
Caring for Younger and Older Dependents

Keep Your Retirement Intact by Separating Emotion from Finance

MINNEAPOLIS, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Caught between supporting kids, caring for
aging parents, and planning for their own retirement, many Americans in the
Sandwich Generation, adults 40-60 caring for both younger and older
dependents, are struggling to balance financial and emotional challenges
during the recession. According to Age Wave's 2009 Retirement Tipping Point
Report, 40% of the Sandwich Generation now worry they will have to financially
support their parents or in-laws.

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz) emphasizes that
Americans should strive to keep their retirement intact by separating emotion
from finance and focusing on the magnitude of the issue rather than
chronology. This will put them on the path to "re-engineering" their
retirement.

"When you are in a dire situation, a key rule of thumb is to make sure you
protect your own needs so you can continue to have the capacity to help
others," says Jim Johnson, vice president of advanced programs at Allianz.
"Like when you're on an airplane: the announcement says to put on your oxygen
mask before assisting fellow travelers."

Separating Emotion from Finance
Americans value family more than wealth, according to the Age Wave study, but
during times of crisis like a recession, these values can seem to collide.
How do you help family members without throwing your savings into jeopardy?
Members of the Sandwich Generation experience this dilemma to a greater degree
given the weight of their financial decisions.

Allianz recommends working with a financial professional on the following
value-based questions to create a viable retirement planning strategy and
arrange priorities.

Traditional Preferred

How much do you have saved for your How important is it that you
children's education? be able to help your children
with their college costs?

How much money will you have when Do you know what your basic
you retire? How much will you need? survival needs and desired or
dream income needs will be in
retirement?

How do you feel about risk in retirement? Do you have retirement
strategies for both up and
down markets?

What is long term care insurance and Have your parents ever needed
when does it make sense? assisted living care?

Magnitude vs. Chronology
Another important element of planning for retirement while meeting current
responsibilities is balancing timing with overall magnitude. Simply because
some concerns arise before others, they are given more consideration - and
money - than others that have greater long-term consequences. For example,
some parents place a higher value on the children's college tuition than they
do on their own retirement needs.

"For solid future financial health, it is important to focus on the magnitude
of the problem rather than on the chronological order of the issue. The
commitment to the long-term livelihood of yourself and your spouse outweighs
nearer-term nice-to-haves," says Johnson. "In a recession, you need to take a
tough look at what is necessary in the long run versus what you may want to do
right now."

Schedule a Meeting with Your Financial Professional
To help identify issues before they become major problems, schedule a policy
review with your financial professional and employ the 'Three Rs' of planning
for retirement:

-- Realign the way you think about retirement.
-- Redefine the importance and value of retirement income strategies.

-- Re-engineer income sources to help meet retirement goals and needs.

About Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
Founded in 1896 and based in Minneapolis, Allianz provides fixed and variable
annuities, life insurance policies, and long term care insurance products in
the United States. Allianz products are offered through a nationwide network
of independent distribution. The company is part of Allianz SE, a global
financial services group that is the 14th largest company in the world based
on sales, profits, assets, and market value. Allianz SE employs more than
155,000 people worldwide.

SOURCE Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America

Eryka Jackson of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America,
+1-763-765-5415, eryka.jackson@allianzlife.com