The Financial Impact Changes Today and Tomorrow
Using savings to pay for today’s caregiving needs leaves us without savings for our own future needs.
A colleague reached out last week to suggest we create a working group to raise awareness of the need for financial assistance for family caregivers. I immediately agreed.
To better understand the challenges so we can advocate for the best solution, I created a survey to learn more about the financial impact. (Please take the survey if you live in the U.S. and care or recently cared for a family member.)
Our initial responses will be no surprise to you. We are worried about paying for our own future care needs because of paying for our caree’s current caregiving experiences. When asked, “How would you describe your savings for your future?”, one respondent wrote:
“This is what terrifies me - not having any!”
Another family caregiver wrote:
“As my grandmother ages and her condition worsens, but not yet to the point of hospice, I find nearly all of her care outside of general medical is 100% out of pocket. From aides, to assistants, to OTC meds and equipment/supplies. It's the in between phase of her age/illness. In addition I have one in college and one headed to college which means between tuition and eldercare alone I pay over $80,000 a year.”
The struggle to find affordable help takes its toll. A family caregiver shared:
“It's been hard, we can't afford an agency so we have to hire privately or get people to volunteer. We are constantly having staffing problems and there is no time for me when I get sick or am extremely burned out.”
Without enough money to get enough help, family caregivers work 24/7, seven days a week. When asked what they need but can’t afford, respondents indicated that they want a break. “Respite care so that I can have a break would be a blessing!” wrote one family caregiver.
With financial help for family caregivers today, we solve two problems: We change the current caregiving experience and the future caregiving crisis. Imagine millions of former family caregivers in 10 years without any savings and in poor health because of the stress of their past caregiving experience. Our systems aren’t built to manage that number of individuals in desperate need of services and programs.
An investment in family caregivers right now pays off immediately and every day going forward. Without help today, we can’t be consumers who support a healthy economy. Christina Keys, who cares for her mom and supports family caregivers through her non-profit, Loving Them Forward, talked about the future impact on the travel industry during a phone call we had on Friday. How will we be able to vacation when we can’t retire because we must work and don’t have any extra money, she wondered. How will that impact the employees of hotels, restaurants and airlines who took a huge hit during the pandemic?
A personal caregiving experience impacts the family’s budget and the community’s economy. When we stabilize a family’s financial situation, we strengthen our economy. We all win.
Want to help us with our initiate? Send me an email if you’d like to join us. Most important, if you care or recently cared for a family member, please take our survey. To receive regular updates about our initiative, subscribe to my newsletter, below.
(Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay)