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Nearly 10 million
adult children over the age of 50 care for their aging parents. These family
caregivers are themselves aging as well as providing care at a time when they
also need to be planning and saving for their own retirement. The study is an
updated, national look at adult children who work and care for their parents
and the impact of caregiving on their earnings and lifetime wealth.
The proportion of adult
children providing personal care and/or financial assistance to a parent has
more than tripled over the past 15 years. Currently, a quarter of adult children,
mainly Baby Boomers, provide these types of care to a parent.
Working and non-working
adult children are almost equally as likely to provide care to parents in need.
Overall, caregiving sons
and daughters provide comparable care in many respects, but daughters are more
likely to provide basic care and sons are more likely to provide financial assistance.
The total estimated aggregate
lost wages, pension, and Social Security benefits of these caregivers of parents
is nearly $3 trillion.
For women the total individual
amount of lost wages due to leaving the labor force early and/or reduced hours
of work because of caregiving responsibilities equals $142,693. The estimated
impact of caregiving on lost Social Security benefits is $131,351. A very conservative
estimated impact on pensions is approximately $50,000. Thus, in total, the cost
impact of caregiving on the individual female caregiver in terms of lost wages
and Social Security benefits equals $324,044.
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