Happy Spring! In this edition of our newsletter, we’ll be addressing the financial challenges that family caregivers often face, offering insights on how caregiving can become a financial burden and ways to manage it. We’ll also dive into the concept of the “sandwich generation,” exploring the unique struggles of those balancing caregiving for both children and aging parents.
We’re thrilled to share we will be adding new resources soon on our website, designed to support and empower caregivers and those preparing for their later years. Additionally, you’ll find exciting upcoming seminars and webinars this quarter, where we’ll be discussing a new webinar topic, “Cybersecurity” as well as the well loved, and well attended seminar “Putting Your Financial House in Order”. If you haven’t attended it, please join us as I’m sure you’ll leave with some really helpful tips on preparing your estate for your next of kin to manage it when you can no longer do it on your own. Lastly, you’ll have the opportunity to attend the “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” Educational Series to help inform you about the things you need to do before making a transition from your current home to your next. And don’t forget to bring a friend!
We hope these resources will help you navigate both the planning phase of life, or for the caregiving experience with greater ease and confidence.
By Richard Eisenberg
If you’re caring for a loved one in retirement, or will be, you’ll probably find it to be a drain on your finances — roughly $7,200 annually, on average, according to AARP. But what if you could get paid for your time and effort?
Family caregivers often face financial hardships when caring for their loved ones as they cut back on their jobs and take on caregiving expenses. There are about 44.6 million caregivers in the U.S. performing the equivalent of about $873.5 billion worth of labor each year, according to a study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Of that, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care is valued at $346.6 billion.
“Family caregivers often face financial hardships when caring for their loved ones as they cut back on their jobs and take on caregiving expenses.”
“Over 60% of family caregivers want to be compensated for the care they provide,” said Jason Resendez, president and chief executive of the National Alliance for Caregiving. Turns out, getting paid as a family caregiver is increasingly possible — though still not easy — due to the spread of programs from Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Medicare might even pay to provide home care for a parent. Paid family care is sometimes known as consumer-directed, self directed or participant-directed. It’s called structured family caregiving when you offer the assistance while living with a loved one receiving it.
It’s called structured family caregiving when you offer the assistance while living with a loved one receiving it.
“The idea that family members are paid to provide care is really intriguing,” said Jennifer Reckrey, a geriatrician and associate professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, who gave a presentation about it at a recent Gerontological Society of America conference that I attended. The odds of being a family caregiver in retirement are pretty high. The new “Retiree Life in the Post-Pandemic Economy” report from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that 26% of retirees are either currently caregiving or were caregivers earlier in their retirement — often for parents. “I think this is an emerging trend,” said Resendez. “More and more folks are recognizing how essential family caregivers are to improving health outcomes for the people they’re taking care of. In order to do that, they have to be adequately taken care of, and part of that is compensation.” But few people know that’s even possible.
Read the full article here.
By Lonette Bolden-Smith, MA, BSN, RN, CMC
Are you an adult in your 30’s, 40’s or 50’s and struggling with your home and working-life balance while tasked with taking care of an aging adult? Maybe you are in your 60’s and struggling to care for a parent in their 80’s or 90’s while trying to take care of yourself, your spouse, focus on retirement, and helping your kids who are now older. If yes, then you are a part of the “sandwich generation” – it is more of a phase of life than a literal generation – it is an ongoing experience.
If yes, then you are a part of the“sandwich generation”
I brushed off being a member of the sandwich generation until the year of2014 when I lost my dad. I found myself not only overwhelmed with grief, but also with worry about my household, my job, and my mom who lived hours away. I remembered reading about the sandwich generation in previous years but now reality set in. I was sandwiched between a lot of dynamics and felt pulled in many different directions.
How do you handle being a part of the sandwich generation?
I’m here to share that guilt is real. Anger, frustration, and feeling lost or helpless are all real, valid emotions. You are human. I am a professional who has worked in the health and human services field for over 20years. I specialize in helping people navigate challenges and I admit that I am not perfect and have struggled myself. I too have to take deep breaths, go for long walks, listen to my relaxation music station, etc. when things get overwhelming. I have had my true moments of being a struggling member of the sandwich generation. However, I have found my balance and am now a functioning member of the sandwich generation.
Read the full article here.
Preparing for your later years involves several important considerations to ensure that you age with dignity, comfort, and peace of mind. Here are a few key things to think about:
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