Many folks reason that Long Term Care insurance is an unnecessary expense because they have family members who will care for them. And it's true that for non-critical, maintenance-level care, this is an obvious choice (assuming one's children or sibling's are amenable to the idea). What's not so obvious, though, is the cost to the caregiver:
'About 73% of the primary caregivers – and 40% of the secondary caregivers – said they had reduced contributions to savings accounts as a result of caregiving responsibilities, and 80% of the primary caregivers and 55% of the secondary caregivers said they had reduced retirement contributions.'
Ooops.
Genworth Financial, one of the LTCi 'Big Boys' commissioned the study, based on over 800 adults, both caregivers and those receiving care. The problem is that those giving the care cost themselves major chunks of their own nest-eggs; giving up their ability to contribute to 401(k)'s and the like means that there's less available to them when they need it.
A vicious cycle, indeed.
'About 73% of the primary caregivers – and 40% of the secondary caregivers – said they had reduced contributions to savings accounts as a result of caregiving responsibilities, and 80% of the primary caregivers and 55% of the secondary caregivers said they had reduced retirement contributions.'
Ooops.
Genworth Financial, one of the LTCi 'Big Boys' commissioned the study, based on over 800 adults, both caregivers and those receiving care. The problem is that those giving the care cost themselves major chunks of their own nest-eggs; giving up their ability to contribute to 401(k)'s and the like means that there's less available to them when they need it.
A vicious cycle, indeed.
