The True Cost of LTC to Families

Many people assume that if they need care, a family member will provide it – and that this solves the problem. It doesn’t. Relying on family for care is not a plan; it’s a burden transfer. The people who step in to provide care pay an enormous price, and most of them don’t fully understand the cost until they’re already in it. 

Studies show that family caregivers lose an average of $659,139 in lifetime wages, pension benefits and Social Security earnings as a direct result of their caregiving responsibilities. That figure represents careers interrupted, promotions missed, hours reduced and jobs left entirely. 

The physical and emotional toll is just as serious. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 40% of caregiving spouses suffer from depression. And research from the University of Pittsburgh Center for Social and Urban Research found that, compared to others their age, those who begin providing care for a husband or wife are 63% more likely to die within four years of starting. Long-term care is, in the words of many financial planners, the silent destroyer of financial plans. 

Research from LifePlans, the National Alliance for Caregiving and MetLife offers a striking comparison. Family caregivers were 50% more likely to hold jobs if the recipient of care had long-term care insurance. Among college-educated caregivers, 85% could keep working when the relative receiving care had LTC coverage – but only 45% could keep working when the relative lacked it. 

A study by the National Council on the Aging adds another dimension. Ninety-three percent of parents say they do not want their children to use college savings earmarked for grandchildren in order to pay for their care. Yet 69% of adult children say they would do so anyway. Of those who have already provided financial assistance, 57% used money set aside for retirement, took a second job or raided a college savings fund. The intentions of the parents and the actions of the children are completely out of step. 

Long-term care is not just an individual issue. It is a family-wide, intergenerational issue – and if it isn’t addressed today, in the comfort of your living room, it will be addressed later, in the stress of a hospital waiting room.