By Susan Rupe InsuranceNewsNet
December 26, 2018
Family caregivers have their own set of
financial needs.
More than 43
million working-age Americans serve as unpaid family caregivers. Although so
much of the financial services industry has focused its attention on those who
need care, the population segment that provides care has its own set of needs.
Unpaid family
caregivers are the focus of a LIMRA series focusing on the insurance and
financial needs of those caregivers.
Why caregivers?
“Caregivers present
both an opportunity and a challenge for the financial services industry because
so many unpaid family caregivers trade off the opportunity to work for being at
home and taking care of family members - children, spouses, parents, whatever
it may be,” said James Scanlon, LIMRA senior research director. “So while
caregivers don’t have to pay to have someone else take care of their people, at
the same time they are sacrificing their opportunities to earn an income, to
earn benefits normally associated with employment like health insurance and
retirement savings plans, as well as access to a lot of other financial
services associated with employment.”
With caregivers
less likely to have income as a result of their responsibilities, “that’s going
to put a lot of households in a precarious financial position,” Scanlon said.
Caregivers have
complex financial planning needs, and they need help in making sure their
caregiving efforts don’t put their families at risk.
Life insurance is
one area in which caregivers are falling short, the LIMRA report said. Only 42
percent of caregivers own life insurance. Among “abundant caregivers” – those
who provide care for more than 30 hours a week – only about 15 percent own
disability insurance.
But with all the
demands on their time and resources, caregivers are a tough market for
financial professionals to reach, Scanlon said.
“The point of the
study is that the financial service industry can use this information as a
bridge, as a way to connect with that community to bring them out,” he said.
“You have to go and find these people. You’re not going to find them the way
you normally do through an employer or an income they’re earning. You need to
draw them out with communications that speak to their needs and demonstrate an
understanding of their challenges.”
Domino Effect
One message that
can resonate with caregivers, Scanlon said, is the possible “domino effect”
that the lack of insurance or planning can have on a caregiver’s family.
“It’s the
importance of the caregiver’s own security because that is directly related to
the security of their care recipients,” he said. “If the family member is
depending on the caregiver for their sustenance and something happens to that
caregiver, now you don’t have just one problem - you have two problems.”
“I think it’s an
important message that caregivers need to hear.”
One finding from
the LIMRA research that Scanlon said surprised him was that unpaid caregiving
takes place in families of all income levels.
“It’s not happening
only in families where they can’t afford to pay for care. It’s also happening
in high-income families,” he said. “So a lot of people are providing care
voluntarily, not just because they can’t afford to pay for it.”
Ultimately, having
the right financial planning in place will give families options to have care
provided in the way they choose, Scanlon said.
“You want to put yourself
in a position where you have options and you can choose which path you want to
go.”
Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly
served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was
an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her atSusan.Rupe@innfeedback.com. Follow her
on Twitter @INNsusan.
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