Did you know that 70% of men and women over the age of 65 will need some kind of long-term care services?

Erin D. Eiras, CPFA, CEPA, President and Founder of InVestra recently co-hosted a panel discussion yesterday with friend and colleague, Alecia Barnette, who is a long-term care specialist at Financial Independence Group – reply to the Newsletter email or email Admin@InVestra.com for a recording of the material.

Long-term care can be very expensive, and can take a toll on the family as a whole as they try to figure out payment, roles of family members, and other logistics of making long-term decisions for a loved one. When taking care of someone long term, it usually means feeding them, helping with personal care, bathing them, and helping with other daily tasks. Let’s come together to recognize National Long-Term Care Awareness Month, and show support to those giving and receiving long-term care. Here’s a list of statistics surrounding long-term care in the United States.

  • 78% of adults who are getting long-term care at home rely solely on family and friends for their assistance
  • The average caregiver is a woman around 46 years of age
  • On average, the caregiver spends about 21 hours per week assisting their patient or family member
  • Over 90% of family caregivers had to alter their work schedule permanently due to caring for their loved one
  • Around 40% of caregivers have had to switch from working full-time, to part-time.
  • Close to half said they had to skip vacation and other personal activities in order to take adequate care of their loved one
  • 29% had to use their own money to provide care
  • More than 10% had to move in order to be closer to their family member in need of care
  • Around 10% had to take a pay cut at their full-time job

What’s one to do?

Learn all you can. Ask questions Use #LongTermCareAwarenessMonth to find informational posts on social media. Raise awareness about long-term care and acknowledge anyone you know who is or has been a caregiver before. The more we understand the emotional, physical, and economic toll that long-term care can take on loved ones, the more we can prepare for our own futures so we don’t become a burden to the people we love the most.