"It will take me to my mid-60s before I am going to be ready to retire and then your children will need help with their families. It is never ending," he said.

Not only have Mr Andrew and his wife Maria had to plan for their retirement, they are among one in five parents aged 50 to 60 are now preparing to financially support their children for the next 10 to 20 years, according to new state government research.

The Andrews have four children aged between 19 and 25, three of whom live at home. Even the one son who lives in London is expected to eventually return to the family home in Blakehurst. The three elder children have full-time work and the fourth is at university and has casual work.

"Although my children are quite independent, they are happy to stay at home because it is a lot cheaper than moving out and finding their own accommodation, whether that's renting or buying," he said.

"And we are happy to have them at home. For how long? We're not sure. They are going ahead in their careers and extending their education."

Housing difficulty

A new report by the NSW Department of Family and Community Services shows many young Baby Boomers have found themselves providing ongoing financial support to their adult children.

"They acknowledge it is tough for young people to get started these days with a highly competitive job market and unaffordable house prices," the report said.

"However, the burden of this financial dependence is taking a toll on some young boomers. In a time when they should be winding down their working lives and enjoying their increased disposal income, some feel they are working harder than ever to support children."

Mr Andrew, 52, is a shop and office fitter, and has been running a business with his brother for 30 years. He plans to stay in some sort of business for the rest of his life.

He has no plans to downsize his home so he can help his children with their families for the years ahead.

"If they don't have some kind of support from their parents, I am afraid they won't be able to afford for many years to achieve what we've achieved in the earlier years of our lives because the housing market and the cost of living is overtaking incomes.

"I am preparing myself for their future," he said.

Need to work

The NSW Ageing Strategy research report surveyed more than 1000 people aged 50 to 60 in the state.

Most workers agree they will need to work well beyond the age of 60 to be financially stable in their retirement, the report said.

On average, those surveyed said they will need to be able to support themselves financially for up to 21 years after they retire.

While most are confident they will be able to support themselves, 22 per cent are not sure they will have the means.

Many want to keep working into their 60s but are concerned about ageism in the workforce.

Two-fifths of people said they believe it is likely that employer attitudes to older workers are likely to prevent them from working for as long as they would like.

About two-thirds of the 50 to 60-year-old workers surveyed said it was unlikely they would change industry before retirement.

Overall, about 60 per cent said they felt positive about their future into the next 20 years. However, one in five had not considered their future lives.

More than 30 per cent had not created wills and only 21 per cent had created powers of attorney.

Attitudes must change

NSW Minister for Ageing John Ajaka said the new NSW Ageing Strategy will focus on removing ageism in the workplace and help ensure the "irreplaceable experience of older workers is retained in the workforce".

He said it was clear attitudes to older workers needed to change.

"How on earth have we allowed experience gathered over years, sometimes decades, to be cast as a negative?" he said.

"Experience, the ability to say you have been there, done that and seen it, matters.

"It is as simple as this – if they can do the job, they should have the job. It shouldn't matter how many years someone has been on the earth for."