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Casey to launch effort to aid financially squeezed adults

WASHINGTON – Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) will launch an initiative Monday aimed at drawing attention to the needs of the so-called "sandwich generation" – people in their 40s and 50s financially squeezed by caring for both aging parents and grown children.

Casey's effort will open with a hearing in Pittsburgh and continue with further sessions around Pennsylvania, with the aim of developing legislation later this year, according to his office.

Around one in seven middle-age adults (15 percent) provides financial support to both a parent and a grown child, likely driven in part by young adults struggling in a weak economy, according to a 2013 report from the Pew Research Center. Casey hopes his hearings will bring attention to the people caught in the middle and help develop ideas to assist them.

"This hearing will explore the increasing challenges that working families face across Pennsylvania and the nation as they care for aging parents and their children while trying to save for retirement," Casey said in a statement. "The number of Americans in the so-called 'Sandwich Generation' is growing and I'm committed to focusing on commonsense solutions that help those in the Sandwich Generation as they care for their loved ones, prepare for retirement and try to provide financial security for their families."

The Monday hearing will be held at 1 p.m. at the Allegheny County Courthouse. Casey is chairing the event as part of his role as a senior member on the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

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