Americans Clueless About Long-Term Care Giving Realities...

An estimated 66 million Americans serve as unpaid caregivers for loved ones.

A new study revealed the actual impact of caregiving is often much greater than expected. Here are the highlights from the study:

While only 40% of caregivers expect they will contribute financially to the care of a family member, the reality is 83% end up doing so.

Only 38% of caregivers expect to experience a decrease in income while actually 63% of caregivers do experience a decrease.

37% of caregivers expect their savings to decline as a result of caregiving while the study found, in fact, 61% of caregivers used some of their savings to care for a loved one.

57% of caregivers actually dipped into their retirement funds to help care for a loved one, compared to only 34% who expected having to do so.


48% of caregivers suffered employment stresses, including losing a job, changing shifts or missing career opportunities as a result of caregiving responsibilities, compared to only 29% who expected such impact.

Only 35% of Americans believe they will ever need long-term care.

But the reality is 70% of people older than 65 will need long-term care at some point during their lives.


Source: Genworth Financial