RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Plan Better. That's
the No. 1 piece of advice caregivers shared as they reflected on
the challenges of navigating their roles without the proper
resources and planning, according to Genworth's recent Beyond
Dollars study.
Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7206256-genworth-long-term-caregiver-planning/
Genworth is sharing the treasure-trove of advice gleaned from
more than 1,200 caregivers and care recipients this November as the
nation observes Long Term Care Awareness and National Family
Caregivers months.
"Our conversations with caregivers have unearthed a number of
powerful storylines that will help families provide the best care
experience for loved ones while safeguarding their own needs," said
Suly Salazar-Layton, director of
Thought Leadership at Genworth's U.S. Life Insurance Division. "As
we recognize the undeniable strength, commitment and amazing spirit
of caregivers this November and throughout the year, it was only
fitting to curate and share these learnings."
The burden on caregivers continues to rise as they report
missing 19 percent more work than they did when surveyed two years
ago and paying 20 percent more in out-of-pocket expenses for
care-related expenses compared with five years ago. As reported
earlier, caregiving also can have a significant impact on
careers.
In hindsight, more than half of caregivers and care recipients
surveyed said they would have done things differently. Genworth
collected the top five lessons learned in a playbook of actionable
tips designed to help alleviate core financial and emotional
roadblocks that many caregivers struggle to manage:
A Game Plan for Care:
- Plan Better: While almost half of all care recipients
(48 percent) had considered the possibility of the need for long
term care, only 26 percent actually made a plan to cover their
potential needs. Even among those who did make plans, 63 percent
said that they wished they had taken steps sooner. Not planning led
to stress that could have been avoided, additional health issues,
hasty decisions, financial strain on the family's budget and the
care recipient no longer being able to express their preferences.
Respondents who wished they had planned sooner estimated that they
could have saved $8,000 of the
$10,000 in out-of-pocket expenses
caregivers pay annually. Lesson? Start planning sooner rather than
later.
- Ask others for help so you can get a break: 43 percent
of caregivers said the demands of their roles had a negative impact
on their health and well-being, leading to depression (44%) and
extremely high levels of stress (33%). Some talked about
being pulled in competing directions and feeling bad about not
doing anything well. The lesson: it's okay for caregivers to ask
for the support they need. Sharing the responsibility of caregiving
can allow everyone to reflect on and embrace the positive feelings
of caring for a loved one.
- Create a plan to make the care recipient more comfortable in
your own home: On average, caregivers host care recipients in
their home between three to four years. The strong majority (87
percent) of caregivers stated that care recipients require moderate
to heavy assistance to stay comfortable in the caregiver's home.
Lesson? Making the necessary household modifications can
provide an immeasurable amount of safety and convenience.
Doing so may also provide extra help for the caregiver, allowing
the caregiver to be present for his or her own family.
- Ensure medical directives are in place and have been
reviewed by family and friends: Caregivers emphasized the
importance of having medical directives in place and ensuring they
have been reviewed with family, friends and, particularly, the
caregiver, when it comes to the care recipient's medical
needs. Raising the topic may be the hardest part. For
tips on how to start the conversation and develop a specific,
actionable plan, check out Genworth's Let's Talk page:
https://www.genworth.com/lets-talk.html.
- Consider the financial options you have available for paying
for care: Generally speaking, there are four ways to obtain
long term care services. You can pay for them on your own,
rely on family and friends for help, or sign up for Medicaid (if
you qualify). Other options may include long term care
insurance, or annuities or life insurance with long term care
benefits. Keep in mind that it may be best to combine more than one
of these solutions to cover your long term care costs. 59
percent of caregivers and 49 percent of care recipients who had
long term care insurance reported feeling significantly less stress
than non-owners. 47 percent of caregivers of recipients who had
long term care insurance felt much better prepared to deal with the
situation.
"Caring for a loved one can be one of the most fulfilling things
a person can do, but without proper planning and consideration it
can bring undue stress to families and individuals," said
Salazar-Layton. "As caregivers in this study so eloquently pointed
out, proper planning can lessen the emotional and financial impacts
on both caregivers and care recipients."
Additional Resources
- Consumers can find out what the cost of care is in 440 regions
across all 50 states by visiting Genworth's Cost of Care
website.
- Genworth's Let's Talk website offers tips for initiating
conversations about long term care and financial planning with
loved ones.
- Consumers looking to plan for their long term care needs can
take action by tapping additional educational resources such as the
National Advisory Center for Long Term Care Information
www.longtermcareinsurance.org.
- Genworth's Caregiver Support Resource helps families make
informed choices about long term care.
About the Study
The study, conducted by Genworth in
conjunction with Directive Analytics, a third party survey
administrator, in May 2015, included
interviews with 1,200 U.S. consumers 21 years of age or older.
Respondents either were recipients of long term care, caregivers or
had a family member that was a recipient of care greater than 30
days during the previous 12-month period.
- Additional findings from the survey are detailed in the Beyond
Dollars Executive Summary.
- Key findings are visually represented in an infographic.
About Genworth Financial
Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a leading Fortune 500
insurance holding company committed to helping families become more
financially secure, self-reliant and prepared for the future.
Genworth has leadership positions in mortgage insurance and long
term care insurance and product offerings in life insurance and
fixed annuities that assist consumers in solving their home
ownership, insurance and retirement needs. To help families start
"the talk" about their futures and long term care planning,
Genworth recently completed the first stage of its national
#LetsTalk Tour to encourage conversations and information sharing.
Headquartered in Richmond,
Virginia, Genworth traces its roots back to 1871 and became
a public company in 2004. For more information, visit
genworth.com.
From time to time, Genworth releases important information via
postings on its corporate website. Accordingly, investors and other
interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic
email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding
new postings. Enrollment information is found under the "Investors"
section of genworth.com. From time to time, Genworth's
publicly traded subsidiaries, Genworth MI Canada Inc. and Genworth
Mortgage Insurance Australia Limited, separately release financial
and other information about their operations. This information can
be found at http://genworth.ca and
http://www.genworth.com.au.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/game-plan-for-care--genworth-shares-caregivers-top-5-lessons-learned-300181192.html
SOURCE Genworth Financial, Inc.