Business Wire
With 20 Million
Americans Becoming Caregivers Each Year, This Study Is the First of Its Kind to
Explore the World of Financial Caregivers.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A Merrill Lynch study,
conducted in partnership with Age Wave, finds that the 40 million1 family
caregivers in the U.S. spend $190 billion per year on their adult care
recipients. Despite the financial, emotional and functional challenges in this
life stage, preserving the dignity of their loved one is their primary goal.
The vast majority of caregivers (91 percent) are grateful they could be there
to provide care, and 77 percent say they “would gladly do so again.”
Family caregivers are America’s other social security,
providing the bulk of long-term care today. The aging of the baby boomers will
result in unprecedented numbers of people in America needing care. As a
caregiving crunch is upon us, “The Journey of Caregiving: Honor, Responsibility and
Financial Complexity” offers an in-depth look at Americans’
financial and emotional journeys during this life stage. This study marks the
beginning of a new, multiyear research series from Merrill Lynch and Age Wave
that will examine five distinct life stages: early adulthood, parenting,
caregiving, widowhood, and end of life.
As the first of the series, this study examines the
responsibilities, sacrifices and rewards of caregiving – a life stage that
nearly all Americans will participate in, as a caregiver, care recipient or
both. This study comprehensively explores the topic of financial caregivers – a
role largely unexamined, yet held by 92 percent of caregivers. Financial
caregiving involves contributing to the costs of care and/or coordinating or
managing finances for a care recipient.
The study is based on a nationwide sample of more than
2,200 respondents, including 2,010 caregivers. Key findings about their
caregiving journey include:
·
Much more than hands-on care. Providing
emotional support (98 percent), financial caregiving (92 percent), household
support (92 percent) and care coordination (79 percent) far outweigh physical
care (64 percent).
·
Financial costs – with little discussion of their
ramifications. Seventy-five percent of financial contributors and their
care recipients have not discussed the financial impacts of these
contributions.
·
Caregiving for a spouse vs. for a parent. A spouse is 3.5
times more likely to be the sole caregiver looking after a care recipient, and
is more likely to spend more out of pocket on care-related costs. Their
caregiving journey is also different in terms of the obligations and financial
interdependencies they hold with their loved one.
·
Caregiving gender gap. Both for cultural and
biological reasons, women are more commonly caregivers for spouses and parents,
averaging six years of caregiving in their lifetime versus four years for men.2 As
a result, women are disproportionately impacted by the challenges of
caregiving, including struggling to balance responsibilities and making career
sacrifices. And then, more find themselves alone and without someone to care
for them when needed.
·
Responsibilities extend beyond the care recipient’s
life. Sixty-one percent of the time, caregivers expect their role will
end with the death of their loved one. However, the complexities of financial,
legal, and other aspects of caregiving often continue for months, or even
years.
“As tens of millions of people take on caregiving
responsibilities each year, supporting those caring for our aging population
has become one of the most pressing financial issues of our lifetime,” said
Lorna Sabbia, head of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions for Bank of
America Merrill Lynch. “Greater longevity is going to have a profound impact on
the caregiving landscape and calls for earlier, more comprehensive planning and
innovative solutions to address the health and long-term care needs of our
loved ones.”
Financial caregiving: Navigating
complexity and responsibility
The study finds that 92 percent of caregivers are also financial caregivers,
and are contributing to and/or coordinating finances for their loved one. In
fact, after two years of receiving care, 88 percent of care recipients are no
longer managing their finances independently.
Financial caregiving is often far more complex than simply
contributing to the recipient’s care. Financial caregivers are responsible for
a wide variety of tasks, including:
|
-
|
Paying bills from
their recipient’s account (65 percent).
|
||||||||||||
|
-
|
Monitoring bank
accounts (53 percent).
|
||||||||||||
|
-
|
Handling insurance
claims (47 percent).
|
||||||||||||
|
-
|
Filing taxes (41
percent).
|
||||||||||||
|
-
|
Managing invested
assets (21 percent).
|
||||||||||||
·
Health care rises as top challenge. Respondents find
that navigating health insurance expenses is the top challenge of financial
caregiving (57 percent).
·
Uncharted territory. An estimated 49 percent of
financial caregivers don’t have the legal authorization to perform their role.3
·
Guidance and resources lacking. Sixty-six percent
of caregivers feel they could benefit from financial advice.
Costs and compensations of caregiving
While some aspects of caregiving may feel like a burden, those surveyed also
tell us it is a blessing. Contrary to all we hear about the stress and
sacrifices of caregiving, for many caregivers, the role is also often associated
with a range of positive experiences and rewards. Caregivers describe a
complex, demanding yet often nourishing journey – defined by honor, gratitude,
fulfillment, purpose, and strong family bonds.
Costs:
·
Nearly three quarters of respondents say they’ve made numerous
sacrifices as a caregiver – whether familial or professional.
·
Fifty-three percent have made financial sacrifices to compensate
for caregiving expenses. Thirty percent of caregivers say that they have had to
cut back on expenses, and 21 percent have had to dip into personal savings.
·
Two in five caregivers under the age of 64 have made sacrifices
at work due to caregiving responsibilities, including reducing their hours (17
percent) and leaving the workforce (16 percent).
Compensations:
·
Caregivers feel rewarded knowing they are doing something good
for someone they love – 61 percent say the greatest benefit of providing care
is the sense that they have “done the right thing.”
·
Seventy-seven percent say they would gladly take on being a
caregiver for a loved one again.
·
Forty percent report a strengthened bond between themselves and
the care recipient, and 24 percent say caregiving brought their family closer
together.
·
Eighty-six percent say watching their loved one’s health
struggle was a motivator that caused them to place more value on taking care of
their own health.
“Caregiving is one of today’s most complex life stages,
throughout which hard work, high stress and heavy obligations intertwine with
honor, meaning and resilience,” said Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., CEO and founder of
Age Wave. “This experience becomes even more emotionally complex and
financially challenging when caring for loved ones suffering from dementia or
Alzheimer’s. Even with that added burden, this study reveals that 65 percent
say that being a caregiver brought purpose and meaning to their life.”
The crucial role of employers
Employers can play an integral role in supporting caregiving employees during
this demanding life stage. While 84 percent of employers say caregiving will
become an increasingly important issue in the next five years, only 18 percent strongly
agree that their workplace is currently “caregiving-friendly”4 –
underscoring the need for new approaches and solutions across the workforce.
“Meaningful, well-designed employer benefits can make a
crucial difference in helping caregivers navigate the high stress of caring for
a loved one, and help them balance these responsibilities with the rest of
their working and financial lives. Just as child care has been an issue in the
past that led to revolutionizing HR benefits, the aging of the population means
we need to consider how caregiving is becoming an increasingly important issue
for employers and employees,” said Kevin Crain, head of Workplace Solutions for
Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “These should include resources and programs
focused on addressing caregiving complexities and employee networks that
facilitate support from experts and peers.”
According to Crain, “Bank of America Corporation is
committed to meeting the needs of caregivers in today’s transforming world.
Companywide initiatives dedicated to addressing the needs of our country’s
aging population and those of their caregivers include combatting elder
financial fraud, increased awareness of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s
disease, and implementing caregiving best practices through training and
resources for its financial advisors and corporate clients. The company
supports our employees who are caregivers through a variety of resources
including access to emergency back-up care for adults and children,
professional elder care assessments, elder care law services, and an internal
Parents and Caregivers employee network.”
1 AARP, 2015, Caregiving in the
U.S.
2 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, 2016
3 AARP, 2015, report: Family Financial Caregiving: Rewards, Stresses, and Responsibilities
4Northeast Business Group on Health & AARP, 2017. Caregiving in the Workplace: Employer Benchmarking Survey
2 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, 2016
3 AARP, 2015, report: Family Financial Caregiving: Rewards, Stresses, and Responsibilities
4Northeast Business Group on Health & AARP, 2017. Caregiving in the Workplace: Employer Benchmarking Survey
Age Wave
Age Wave is the nation’s foremost thought leader on population aging and its
profound business, social, financial, health care, workforce, and cultural
implications. Under the leadership of Founder/CEO Dr. Ken Dychtwald, Age Wave
has developed a unique understanding of new generations of maturing consumers
and workers and their expectations, attitudes, hopes, and fears regarding their
longer lives. Since its inception in 1986, the firm has provided breakthrough
research, compelling presentations, award-winning communications, education and
training systems, and results-driven marketing and consulting initiatives to over
half the Fortune 500. For more information, please visit www.agewave.com. (Age Wave is not affiliated
with Bank of America Corporation.)
Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management
Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management is a leading provider of comprehensive
wealth management and investment services for individuals and businesses
globally. With 14,954 financial advisors and $2.25 trillion in client balances
as of September 30, 2017, it is among the largest businesses of its kind in the
world. Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management specializes in goals-based wealth
management, including planning for retirement, education, legacy, and other
life goals through investment, cash and credit management. Within
Merrill Lynch
Global Wealth Management, the Private Banking and Investment Group focuses on
the unique and personalized needs of wealthy individuals, families and their
businesses. These clients are served by nearly 200 highly specialized private
wealth advisor teams, along with experts in areas such as investment
management, concentrated stock management and intergenerational wealth transfer
strategies. Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management is part of Bank of America
Corporation. For more information, please visit https://www.ml.com/financial-goals-and-priorities.html.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving
individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations
with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial
and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched
convenience in the United States, serving approximately 47 million consumer and
small business relationships with approximately 4,500 retail financial centers,
approximately 16,000 ATMs, and award-winning digital banking with approximately
34 million active users, including approximately 24 million mobile users. Bank
of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment
banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving
corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world.
Bank
of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small
business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and
services. The company serves clients through operations in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and more than 35
countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New
York Stock Exchange.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is a marketing name for the
Retirement Services business of Bank of America Corporation (BofA Corp).
Banking activities may be performed by wholly owned banking affiliates of BofA
Corp, including Bank of America, N.A. (BANA), member FDIC. Certain associates
are registered representatives with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated (MLPF&S) – a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC, and wholly
owned subsidiary of BofA Corp – and may assist you with investment products and
services outside of Heath Benefit Solutions. MLPF&S does not provide any
services for the Bank of America HSA.
This material should be regarded as general information on
Healthcare considerations and is not intended to provide specific healthcare
advice. If you have questions regarding your particular situation, please
contact your legal or tax advisor.
Long-term care insurance coverage contains benefits,
exclusions, limitations, eligibility requirements and specific terms and
conditions under which the insurance coverage may be continued in force or
discontinued.
Not all insurance policies and types of coverage may be available
in your state.
All guarantees and benefits of an insurance policy are
backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. They are
not obligations of, nor backed by, Merrill Lynch or its affiliates, nor do
Merrill
Lynch or its affiliates make any representations or guarantees
regarding the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.
Investment products offered through MLPF&S and
insurance and annuity products offered through MLLA:
|
Are Not FDIC Insured
|
Are Not Bank Guaranteed
|
May Lose Value
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
Are Not Deposits
|
Are Not Insured by Any Federal
Government Agency |
Are Not a Condition to Any
Banking Service of Activity |
||||||||||||||||||
© 2017 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.
Visit the Bank of America newsroom for more Bank of America news, and click here to register for news email alerts.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171101005254/en/
Reporters May Contact:
Julia Ehrenfeld, Bank of America, 1.646.855.3267
julia.ehrenfeld@bankofamerica.com
julia.ehrenfeld@bankofamerica.com
Source: Bank of America Corporation
No comments:
Post a Comment