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I happened across an interesting study about the costs associated with providing care giving support for parents at a distance. In addition to being highly stressful it apparently is much more costly than when providing care for someone closer in proximity. This seems reasonable when you take the price of gas and phone calls into the equation.
According to a 2007 social survey conducted through Statistics Canada, distance appears to be one of the most influential factors related to the risk of experiencing financial consequences when providing care giving support for a relative.
Caregivers living further from the assisted parent are more likely to have extra expenses and miss full days of work. The responsibility of providing long-distance care results in more work-related consequences for women than men.
About 62% of caregivers who lived more than half a day's journey from the parent receiving care incurred extra expenses as a result of the assistance they provided. This was twice the proportion than caregivers living in the same neighbourhood as the parent receiving care (30%).
Even after other socioeconomic factors and the number of care giving hours were taken into account, the odds of having extra expenses were three times higher for caregivers living more than half a day's journey away than for those in the same neighbourhood.
Similarly, 40% of caregivers who lived more than half a day away reported missing full days of work to provide the parent with care. This compares with 28% of those living in the same neighbourhood.
Women were more likely than men to take time off work. Among people living more than an hour's journey from the care recipient, 46% of women missed full days of work to provide care, compared with 27% of men. The proportion of women who were absent from work to give care to a parent was also higher among caregivers who lived less than an hour away.
The family profile of these caregivers was different from that of caregivers who lived closer to their parent. Those who lived farther away had, on average, fewer brothers and sisters, reflecting perhaps that with large families there are often siblings within closer proximity to their parents who can help. They were also more likely to live in the largest metropolitan areas and have higher incomes.
There doesn’t appear to be an easy solution to this financial burden other than leaving ones job but that would of course have even greater consequences. As we move forward with the aging number of people who will increasingly need care giving assistance we may find a change in unemployment and self employment numbers.
Empty nester's may find their nesteggs depleting sooner than expected. This might be something people need to plan into their financial future otherwise they may find themselves fore going retirement vacations.
Have you built the caregiving needs of your parents into your financial planning? Are you really prepared for the future?