2023 AARP Report Recommends Supports for Family Caregivers
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Mar 31, 2023
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Many older Americans choose to have their family members care for them as they age. Despite the comfort a familiar face may provide, there's a significant cost for the loved ones who sacrifice their time, and often their upward economic mobility, to ensure that they can secure proper care for their senior parent.
In a report issued in March 2023, AARP stresses the importance of supporting family caregivers in their financial, emotional, physical, and professional lives. The analysis gives a glimpse into the experiences of family caregivers and also offers recommendations on policies, practices, and programs – across public as well as private realms – that policymakers should consider enacting or enhancing in support of caregivers and the individuals who are in their care.
How Much Does It Cost to Be a Family Caregiver?
Being a family caregiver can come at a great financial cost. The average cost of caregiving has risen exponentially in the past several years, and the trend is expected to increase more over time.
In its report, AARP estimates the value of family caregiving in 2021 at $600 billion dollars in unpaid contributions – up from $470 billion dollars in 2017.
The monetary value of caregiving is not the only cost of care. For family caregivers, some of the intangible costs of included:
- spending an average of 18 hours per week to tend to the needs of their loved ones
- facing higher risks of chronic loneliness, which may have negative health effects
- neglecting their own self-care
What Are the Major Issues in Family Caregiving?
According to the AARP report, by 2034, the population of people over 65 will outnumber the population of children under 18. With this historic shift, the researchers suggest that the impact on family caregiving will become even more prominent in several key areas:
The Need for Tailored Support for Diverse Caregivers and Their Families
Family caregivers across diverse cultures, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and gender identities often face concerns about access to support that is specific to their community. Ensuring that affordable, inclusive, readily available policies and services are in place to meet these needs of these caregivers will continue to be critical.
Direct Care Workforce Shortage
Amid a shortage of professional caregivers that only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, AARP notes that the turnover rate among the direct care workforce averages between 40 percent and 60 percent each year. Failing to recruit and retain a dedicated workforce in caregiving as the aging population grows will inevitably add to the burden carried by unpaid family caregivers.
Economic Impact on Working Caregivers
Most family caregivers – nearly two-thirds of them in 2019, according to AARP – hold a full- or part-time job in addition to caring for their loved ones. These workers often take an economic hit because they need to split their time between their jobs and their home responsibilities.
Without such supports as telecommuting, paid leave, and respite care, they may have no choice but to call out of work, turn down promotions, or even leave their job altogether to dedicate themselves fully to providing care. This can then mean additional financial stress as well as adverse effects on their career and future earning potential.
A Growing Sandwich Generation
In 2019, about 30 percent of older Americans were living with their children or grandchildren. The so-called “sandwich” generation represents those who are responsible for caring for their children and their aging parents at the same time, while also working. These caregivers, who are likely to report more emotional and financial pressure, now tend to include workers across an ever-expanding age span – from 35 to 64.
Recommendations
The AARP’s report recommends specific policies and practices to support family caregivers going forward. These recommendations to policymakers include the following:
- Including family caregivers in planning and decision making across health care settings
- Improving access to respite care for family caregivers
- Ensuring that publicly funded programs and supports for caregivers are inclusive, culturally appropriate, and designed to meet the needs of diverse populations
- Offering family caregivers a tax credit
- Expanding protections for workers who rely on the Family and Medical Leave Act and related state programs while providing long-term care for family members, including instituting paid leave for working family caregivers
- Allowing for other programs that pay family caregivers
- Improving Social Security benefits for people who provide long-term care services to family members
Additional Resources
Having a care plan in place for your loved ones in advance may help decrease the financial costs and other stresses associated with paying for long-term care for aging adults. An elder law attorney can help you create a comprehensive long-term care plan that will address the costs associated with tending to the people you love.
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Elder Law 100 Pinewood Lane Suite #303, Warrendale, Pennsylvania, 15086Our Firm Prepares You for Life What makes our firm different is that we were built with the needs of growing families in mind. We understand you are BUSY, you are growing, you are planning for a life of prosperity and you value ease, convenience and efficiency. You are raising children, and caring for elderly parents, while also working hard to build your own nest egg for a lifetime of support. You want to know youve made the best decisions for your family and that your plan will work when your loved ones need it most. You want to make sure your minor children would be raised by the people you choose, and never by anyone you wouldnt want, and that your teens and adult children are properly prepared to care for you and what you leave behind. You want to feel confident that youve made the right choices, and handled everything so that you arent leaving behind a mess, when something happens. That is our focus as well. Weve developed unique systems to give you the same access to a Personal Family Lawyer as was previously only available to the super-wealthy, so you can have the guidance you need to build and maintain a life of prosperity and wealth. And, to keep your family out of court and out of conflict, which is the greatest risk to the people you love and all you have created, even if youve already worked with a traditional lawyer or created documents online. Our Team Is Here for You We encourage communication with our clients. In fact, weve thrown out the time clocks so you never have to be afraid to call with a quick question. Everything we do is billed on a flat-fee basis, agreed to in advance, so there are never any surprises. We have a whole team to serve you. When you call our office to ask your quick question, you wont have to wait hours or days for a phone call back. Youll get your question answered, right away. And, if you need to schedule a more in-depth legal or strategic call with your Personal Family Lawyer, a call will be scheduled when you're both available and ready for the call so we can make the very best use of your time and not waste your time by leaving voicemail after voicemail back and forth. And, we ensure the most important details of your planning are followed through on and your plan continues to work throughout your lifetime. We have a funding coordinator to ensure your assets are owned the right way throughout your lifetime and none of your assets will end up going through a long, expensive court process or being lost to the state because they were missed after your death. Weve created unique membership programs to keep your plan up to date year in and year out as well as give you access to our Trusted Team of Legal Experts for guidance on ANY legal or financial matter. One day you will need a lawyer. I dont know why and I dont know when, but when you do, you will be grateful you can call on us and well be here to advise you or get you out of a jam. We Help You Transfer Your Life and Legacy Lastly, we believe your financial wealth is only a small part of your overall Life and Legacy Planning which is made up of your far more valuable and most often lost upon incapacity or death intellectual, spiritual and human assets. These assets are what make you who you are, and sum up whats most important to you. And, a survey of inheritors has revealed that what they care about even more than inheriting your money, is inheriting these intangible assets. Most estate plans only focus on the transfer of your financial wealth to the next generation. Most people have such great intentions of passing on the intangible, but very few ever get around to it. Its just not a priority, until its too late. How much do you know about your grandparents values? Their most prized personal possessions? How they felt about you? What they had learned during their lifetime? If you are like most people, you know very little. Thats why we build the capture and passage of these most valuable assets into every estate plan we create. Not only will we help you pass on your money, but also your values, your insights, your stories and your experience the truly valuable assets your loved ones care about the most. Weve developed a tool that allows us to capture and pass on your whole family wealth, including your Intellectual, Spiritual and Human assets. I cant go into all of the details here, but well definitely talk about it when you come in for your Life and Legacy Planning Session.