Almost as many men as women are now providing long-term care to family members, says a Genworth Financial study.
The study found that men are taking an increasing role, with 48 percent of caregivers being male. According to a 2010 AARP article, at that time one-third of caregivers were men.
The average caregiver is 49 years old and earns $67,900 a year. Sixty-one percent are married. According to Genworth, most caregivers (59 percent) are caring for a parent, followed by caring for a spouse. Forty-four percent of respondents report being caregivers for three years or more.
"What's concerning about the statistics, is that the people who are often providing the care are at life stages where they also need to start thinking about their own care plans, but are not," said Wendy Boglioli, national spokesperson for Genworth.
Caregivers, on average, spend $8,080 on out-of-pocket expenses, with one-third of caregivers providing 30 or more hours of care per week, according to the study.
In addition, 58 percent of respondents reported cutting into discretionary spending such as eating out, new clothes or a new car because of caregiver responsibilities.
Care recipients are also impacted, with 32 percent admitting to cutting back on basic needs such as groceries.
Money, time spent and emotional issues could be minimized, the study found, if those involved took a more proactive role toward planning.
"The financial impact of care giving is not the sole reason for making a plan," said Boglioli. "Beyond dollars, there are emotional and even physical issues that caregivers and care recipients face that can often be avoided by simply having this critical conversation and by coming up with a care coordination plan should a long-term care event occur.”
There were a total of 1,208 study participants that fell into one of the following three groups: caregivers (899), care recipients (203) and knowledgeable family members (106).