Family caregivers are the backbone of the nation’s long-term care system and provide an estimated $470 billion worth of free care — often at great personal cost, the Wall Street Journal reported. On average, caregivers spend 26% of their personal income on caregiving expenses, according to a 2021 AARP study, with most personal spending going to housing, including home modifications. A third of caregivers dip into their personal savings, like bank accounts, to cover costs, and 12% take out a loan or borrow from family or friends. Amy Goyer is AARP’s family and caregiving expert. She has written two books on the subject and has her own consulting business. “I am a caregiving expert. How did I end up in bankruptcy?” she says. Ms. Goyer depleted her savings and ended up relying on credit cards after being financially drained by costs related to caring for her parents. After more than a decade of caring for her mom, who had a stroke, and her dad, who had Alzheimer’s, Ms. Goyer filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019. She says it shows how the unexpected costs of daily caregiving can accumulate over time and overwhelm even the most experienced of the nation’s 53 million family caregivers. Caregiving is becoming more expensive because people are living longer with more complicated medical needs and hiring help costs more. The median annual cost of in-home care rose to $54,912 in 2020, an 18.5% increase from 2016, according to Genworth, a long-term-care insurance company.
