PR Newswire
RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 1, 2021
RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In a year of critical healthcare needs, COVID-19 complicated caregiving, but the factors driving an accelerated need for care were largely the same as in years past, found Genworth's Caregiving in COVID-19 Beyond Dollars Study 2021.
Genworth has conducted the study approximately every three years since 2010 as part of its mission to help families prepare for the challenges of their and their loved ones' aging. The study documents the impact of caregiving on families beyond the cost of long-term care services, which Genworth tracks in its annual Cost of Care Survey.
"While the experience of caregiving can be rewarding, the physical, financial, emotional and psychological strain of caring for a loved one is deep and real for caregivers, and their family and friends," said Brian Haendiges, President and CEO, Genworth U.S. Life Insurance. "At Genworth, we know this all too well. In addition to our more than 40 years helping our policyholders and their families navigate these challenges, many of us, like those families across the US, have a personal long-term care story. No one is immune to aging or its impacts, and this year's research further emphasizes the need for us to work together to solve the long-term care crisis before us."
Following are some highlights of this year's study:
Growing Needs
Increasing lifespans mean that the likelihood that you or a loved one will live through an event that requires long-term care is increasing as well. As the population gets older and medicine improves, the prevalence in the population of conditions that require long term care―and the length of time that people live with such conditions―increase as well. And as loved ones adapt to their "new normal," they prefer the comforts of home. Findings include:
Family Matters
As the need for care increases, family members are filling in the gap, with one in three Americans reporting that they unexpectedly became caregivers, with adults reporting the need to carve out an average of approximately 19 hours a week to provide care. However, the responsibility to provide care does not fall equally across families―nor do the hardships imposed by doing so. Findings include:
A Shared Experience
Overall, the physical, financial, emotional, and psychological strain of caregiving is experienced across demographics. Our data shows that the experience of needing care and providing care for a loved one does not vary depending on one's ethnicity. While there were some differences in perspective, the vast majority of experience and approach data does not differ significantly based on one's identified ethnicity. Survey participants this year were 18% Hispanic, 10% African American and 5% Asian, reflective of how ethnic populations are represented in the 2020 U.S. census.
Looking Ahead to Better Outcomes
In a world where more people are caregivers, Americans are looking at the experiences of their loved ones and thinking about how they can age as comfortably as possible―while reducing strain on their families. Long Term Care Insurance can provide flexibility to receive professional-level care either at home or in assisted living facilities1, an increasingly appealing offering as the need for care becomes more likely. Findings include:
Planning Resources
Planning well in advance expands the choices available for care later as people grow older. Following are resources that can help with the planning process:
About the Beyond Dollars Study 2021
Genworth sponsored the Beyond Dollars Study in 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018 and now in 2021 to understand and share the perspectives of care recipients, familial caregivers and their wider support network.
Genworth conducted its latest Beyond Dollars Study in April 2021. The initial research population included 4,695 participants, of whom 1,325 qualified to participate based on their situations and experience. Qualified participants included 963 people providing long term care to loved ones (caregivers), 299 care Recipients and 63 family members with detailed knowledge of a long-term care event in their family (but not responsible for providing care).
When extrapolating to the total population of people requiring long term care services, this study looks at the responses provided by caregivers, the largest, most representative group, as opposed to the portion of survey participants qualifying as care recipients, a group that skews from the total population by nature of their physical and/or cognitive ability to participate in this online survey.
40% percent of caregivers were providing care for a parent, step-parent or parental in-law (23% for their mother, 10% for their father). 46% were caring for a spouse and 3% for a grandparent. 8% were providing long-term care for a sibling or child.
Caregivers were essentially evenly split between male and female, challenging a commonly held assumption that the caregiving role predominantly becomes women's responsibility. Their average age was 51, and 72% were married. 60% of the loved ones receiving care were women, with an average age of 61, of whom 34% were married. A dedicated effort was made to ensure the survey population was ethnically representative of the United States.
Click here to read the Executive Summary of Genworth's Beyond Dollars Study 2021.
About Genworth Financial
Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a Fortune 500 provider of products, services and solutions that help families address the financial challenges of aging. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, we apply our nearly 150 years of experience each day to helping people navigate caregiving options and fund their long term care needs. Genworth is also the parent company of publicly traded Enact Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACT), a leading U.S. mortgage insurance provider. For more information on Genworth, please visit https://www.genworth.com/. From time to time Enact separately releases financial and other information about its operations. This information can be found at https://ir.enactmi.com/.
SOURCE Genworth Financial, Inc.
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