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Health & Fitness

Is Do-It-Yourself Caregiving Cheaper than Long-Term Care Insurance?

If one of your aging parents suddenly needs help with the tasks of daily living, who will provide it? You? If that's you default plan, be prepared for sticker shock. Your services don't come free.

If one of your aging parents suddenly needs help with the tasks of daily living, who will provide it? You? If that’s you default plan, be prepared for sticker shock. Your services don’t come free.

Do-it-yourself caregiving can be very expensive. This assertion is based on a recent report published by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, “The MetLife Study of Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers: Double Jeopardy for Baby Boomers Caring for Their Parents.” For America’s 10 million employed caregivers, lifetime losses in pay, pensions, and social security benefits total an estimated $3 trillion, according to the study. That amounts to $304,000 per worker.

Of course, there’s a chance that none of your parents (typically four per couple), will ever need long-term care.  But don’t count on it.  According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, at least 70 percent of Americans over 65 need long-term care at some point.

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Long-term care insurance can be much cheaper. A good policy will cost between $100 and about $400 per month depending on the covered person’s age, health and benefit features desired. That’s far less than the $304,000 lifetime-earnings hit even if premiums are paid for 30 years or more. It allows you to pay a professional to care for your parent.

People often reject long-term care insurance because they think it’s expensive.  But the opposite is true. It’s one of the biggest bargains around.

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Susan Lenihan, PT, Northport LONG-TERM CARE SPECIALIST

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