Money Management - August 2002

A Workforce Wake-Up Call

Coping with Aging Parents

by Philip D. Shapiro

A few years ago, Nevada surpassed Florida as the state having the highest per-capita senior (age 65 and older) population in the country. Many seniors have relocated for economic and lifestyle reasons, while others have done so to be geographically closer to their children and families. For those of us in the workforce and within the 45 to 59 age profile, the implications of coping with aging parents - whether in close proximity or distant - is substantial. It will have compounding social, emotional and financial effects. Employers and employees should be better educated and prepared to respond to the needs of their aging parents.

In our society, it is very uncomfortable to discuss or even contemplate how one copes with aging parents while being employed. Yet, there will undoubtedly come a time in your life when your parent(s)’ natural aging will progress to a point where you will need to begin to interact with them and your siblings to discuss issues that relate to health, changes in housing, finances and legalities.

Now may be an appropriate time to have your first "family meeting". The purpose of your family meeting is to bring issues and concerns to the forefront - in other words, to begin to communicate and share information between yourself as the adult-child and your senior parent(s). It’s likely that health and financial information has never been discussed before. It’s no easy task to talk about things that are uncomfortable, especially if you do not have a close relationship and regular communication to begin with. Nevertheless, the benefits of your family meeting will include: acknowledgement of both parties’ financial situations; participation from family members on ideas to support identified health, housing and financial needs; and a quantification of supportive needs and who will sponsor them. Ultimately, an action and financial plan needs to be completed.

A 1997 study conducted by the National Center for Women and Aging at Brandeis University and the National Alliance for Caregivers found that over two-thirds of employees who act as care-givers for their aging parents passed up gains such as promotions, pay raises, training opportunities and pension benefits. Of the 1,509 people studied, one in four families in the prior year was involved with care-giving for a senior parent. The average financial loss over a lifetime was projected at $659,139 in wages, pension, and Social Security benefits for an average of eight years of care-giving. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they used sick or vacation days to accommodate their duties, and 25 percent said they refused a transfer or relocation opportunity.

It’s time employers and employees wake up to the inevitable call to action to provide care giving and financial support to their aging parents. It should start with employers embracing benefit support to offset the emotional and financial costs they and their employees will face. In a nationwide study of 1,020 companies conducted by Hewitt Associates of Lincolnshire, Ill., 47 percent offered "eldercare" benefits, up from 13 percent in 1990. The most common benefits included resource and referral services, dependent-care spending accounts, long-term insurance and counseling.

Philip D. Shapiro
Philip D. Shapiro, M.H.A. is the developer and executive director of Promenade on the River, an active senior living community, and the president of Traditions Integrated Care Communities, a senior living consulting firm, both based in Reno.