Simultaneous support to ascendants and descendants: Responses and social challenges to a growing situation among retirees

Increasing longevity places a growing number of retirees in a situation whereby they support their ascendants and descendants simultaneously for short to long periods of time. This situation differs according to the socio-economic position of individuals, combining the norms of independence and the response to a loss of independence that are inherent in contemporary families. Using data from a corpus of 25 interviews, a first group (13) identified concerns retirees for whom upward social mobility at the moment of entry into adult life coincided with geographical mobility, stable employment and increasing incomes. For these persons, the support given to ascendants and descendants does not interfere with other activities. The second group (12) is characterised by ascendants, and especially descendants, who are faced with various forms of precariousness. In order to meet daily challenges, these retirees on low incomes activate other forms of material and relational support. Among individuals from lower social groups, support is not organised in the same way and there are more constraints than for individuals who have experienced upward social mobility.