{
  "id": 7098097,
  "title": "Grandma's 72 and still working to support her children — and theirs",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/grandmas-72-and-still-working-to-support-her-children-and-theirs",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-13T10:30:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/more-grandparents-raising-grandchildren-delaying-retirement-supporting-children-rent-mortgage-2026-9"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Joann Ernst, 72, has taken on the role of a mother to her grandchildren, helping with their upbringing and providing a home for them. She recently moved back to Oregon after living in Connecticut to care for her son Jack, who lost an arm in an accident. Ernst is not Jack's legal guardian, but she has been helping with their grandsons on weekends, living with him, and contributing financially. Ernst worked in the special education department of a local school to support Jack and pay their rent. In June, she moved back to Oregon from Connecticut to continue helping Jack after his injury. Now that she is back in Oregon, Ernst continues to pay the mortgage on a house in Connecticut for Jack and his sons to reside in, while also working as a paid caregiver for Jack's son with autism. Ernst has no legal custody of her grandchildren, but she spends her retirement savings to provide for them and discipline them as if they were her own. This is not what Ernst had envisioned for her retirement; she misses the freedom of being able to do as she pleases, such as going on trips and treating her grandchildren to ice cream.",
  "summary": "Joann Ernst, 72, supports her family financially, delaying retirement to care for her grandchildren, amid rising senior caregiving trends.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}