Four reasons caregiving can be a huge risk to your retirement security:

  • Time:On average, informal caregivers spend about 20 hours a week for 4.6 years providing care. That is a significant amount of time spent on providing care when considering the fact that the majority of caregivers also have full time jobs.
  • Work: Balancing a full time job as well as caregiving can be very difficult. So difficult that many people are forced to work less or retire early in order to provide care. This can significantly impact one’s retirement security since it is estimated that children caregivers lose $300,000 in lost wages, Social Security, and other benefits when forced to choose caregiving over one’s career.
  • Cost: In some cases, individuals will have enough assets to pay for their own care. In other instances, the family caregiver will have to pay for some or all of their parent’s care. Nevertheless, family caregivers pay about $5,500 per year in out of pocket expenses on average.
  • Health: It is no surprise that family caregivers are at a greater health risk than the loved one they are providing care to. Caregivers are 2 times more likely to develop a chronic illness and caregivers with chronic illnesses who are 65+ have a 63% higher mortality rate than non-caregivers.

In the United States, there are over 40 million unpaid family caregivers. It is natural for an individual to think it is their duty to take care of an ill parent, especially since most parents spend their lives taking care of their children. However, other responsibilities and obligations get in the way of completely devoting one’s time and energy into caregiving. This is why conversations about long term care planning are so important to have between family members. This is also an important conversation to have when one’s parents are still in good health mentally and physically.

When planning for retirement, an individual must not forget to include their family members into their plan. One’s family is an integral factor that affects their retirement security and can determine one’s financial wellbeing. By providing long term care, a caregiver can suffer physically, emotionally, and financially. So be proactive and create a long term care plan before it’s too late.

If you start noticing signs that your loved one may need long term care, please contact us. We are happy to answer any and all of your questions about long term care. Call us at 800-625-9267to start planning today.