Feeling harder up than you’d expected to be at this stage of your life? You’re not alone.

Research from insurer SunLife shows that half of those in their 50s to 80s are continuing to support their children or grandchildren financially.

In addition, one in 25 people aged 55-59 are providing financial support to elderly parents.

Unsurprisingly, the additional burdens on their current accounts mean that more than a quarter of over 50s say they are worse off than they expected to be at this time in their lives. Around one in five people in their 60s and one in ten of those in their 70s or over say they are worse off financially than they had anticipated.

Simon Stanney, equity release director at SunLife said: “Our research shows that one in four people in their 50s are not as financially comfortable as they thought they’d be at this stage in their lives – of those, one in five say that is because they have ended up supporting others financially.”

All of the 1,001 respondents surveyed by SunLife were homeowners – but many appear to be property-rich but cash-poor. On average, they had lived in their home for 24 years and had seen their house price increase in value by an average of £135,525 to an average current value of £290,658. Almost 62% said they had no plans to move.

 Concludes Mr Stanney: “While equity release might be one option to consider for asset-rich, cash-poor members of the sandwich generation, it’s essential to review any product option as part of a more comprehensive financial plan.”

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Everyone’s circumstances will be different, but the new findings should make all of us (at the very least) relook at our assumptions on how we fund our retirement

Using the RetireEasy LifePlan gives you a head start here, because (with the Classic and Premium versions) you can play out as many different scenarios as you think of, each showing the impact on your finances depending on how many years you expect to live, how much you will need to put aside to fund your care and so on.

That may help you determine whether you should cut back your spending, save more, stay in work for longer than you had planned…or if you could even spend out a little more.

Having oversight and control of your finances will make a big difference to making the very most of your retirement years.