More military families are turning to financial advisors to help them deal with the cost of caring for an aging family member, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index.
Forty-three percent of military families who are planning for elder care costs are doing so with the help of a financial advisor, according to the survey. That’s up from 25% in 2012.
Military families report providing elder care at roughly twice the rate of their civilian counterparts, said Scott Spiker, chairman and chief executive officer of Fort Worth, Texas-based First Command Financial Services.
“That makes it an especially important issue for financial professionals who serve military families,” he said.
The annual elder care spending survey found that 55% of middle-class military families who are providing elder care indicate that the cost is more than they expected. And 66% of these families say elder care expenses represent a severe financial concern for their household.
The 32% of survey respondents who are caring for an elderly family member put their average monthly cost at $2,429, the highest amount since 2012, when the elder care survey was launched, the report said.
Twenty-three percent of respondents said they expect to pay for elder care through home care services; 10% said they will use a nursing home; and 10% said they expect to pay through health-care services.
The First Command Financial Behaviors Index assesses trends among the American public’s financial behaviors, attitudes and intentions through a monthly survey of about 530 U.S. consumers aged 25 to 70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000.