1Where Innovation Is Tradition

Who Needs You? Incorporating Family and Friend Caregiving into

your Retirement Plans

Cathy Tompkinsctompkin@gmu.edu

703-993-2838George Mason University

July 18, 2013

A presentation for the Chesapeake Life Planning Network

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My Background

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Caregiving in Retirement

How Long will I Live after Retirement?

Life Expectancy – (AoA, Current figures based on 2010 Census)

Men WomenBirth = 73 yearsAt age 65 = 89 years

Birth = 80 yearsAt age 65 = 99 year

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Caregiving in Retirement

The Longevity Game

http://www.northwesternmutual.com/learning-center/the-longevity-game.aspx

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Retirement

Retirement: Leaving the paid labor force to pursue other interests.

Can be voluntary or forced, planned or unplanned.For some, brings with it an uncertainty regarding

having enough resources to have a comfortable situation.

Income can come from private pension plans, Social Security or other government programs or from re-entering the work force.

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Satisfaction and Well-Being

Take control of your time (with caregiving – often lose control of your time)

Research on retirement adjustment suggests that marriage and family relationships serve as social-relational resources in retirement adjustment (Murtran, et al., 1997)

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Life Course Perspective

The dynamic process of development and change over the life span.

Ecology of human development/role context – suggests locating transitions in the social contexts of other roles, relations and developmental processes.

Retirement – a life course ecological transition; need to consider the inter dependency of linked lives, and context

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Role Theory

Helps to explain adjustment in retirement in conjunction with the life course perspective

Vulnerable to feelings of role loss; employment is central to one’s identity; can lead to a decline in morale and an increase in depressive symptoms

May be a major life course/role exit – reducing role strain and overload

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Continuity Theory

People tend to maintain earlier lifestyle patterns, self-esteem and values; retirement may not lead to maladjustment or distress.

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Role Substitution

Exploring ways to replace “roles” and functions in the workforce with substitute roles in retirement

Civic Engagement – being involved with community and political affairs

Researchers have found that retirees who considered themselves engaged were volunteering as well as working (Kaskie and Gerstner [2004]

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Civic Engagement

Does civic engagement constitute a retirement role rather than discrete attitudes or behaviors?

An individual’s sense of civic engagement usually develops slowly over the life course:• Voting at age 18• Spending the afternoon volunteering in a nursing

home• Community service hours

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Caregiving

Caregiving outside of your own family can be considered a form of civic engagement. How many retirees are seeking this type of role substitution relative to other roles that can be gained as a part of civic engagement (e.g. political advocacy, tutoring children, etc.).

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Caregiving Outside of Your Family

Caregiving outside of your own family may carry a substantial amount of stigma.

The availability of caregivers who are taking on that role as part of their civic engagement is limited.

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Caregiving in Retirement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC2CM7UVzPQ

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Caregiving in Retirement

What will I do During My Retirement Years?The Ideal

• Continue working• Volunteer• Travel the World• Spend more time with my hobbies (gardening, reading,

knitting, playing golf…)• Babysit my grandchildren (occasionally)• Spend more time (not all of my time) with my elderly

parents/family members

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Caregiving in Retirement

What will I do During My Retirement Years?The Unexpected

Caring for a Frail Elder

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Caregiving for a Family Member

In 2009, an estimated 43.5 million people in the U.S. (19% of all adults) provided unpaid care to a family member or friend age 50 or older (National Alliance for Caregiving, 2009) with an estimated value of approximately $450 billion (Freinberg, Reinhard, Houser, & Choula, 2011)

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Informal Caregiving

Informal caregiving is a complex and interdependent phenomenon involving individual and family decisions and actions which are also influenced by community and societal factors.

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Informal Caregiving

When an older person’s decline in health and functioning require care and assistance with person care (e.g. bathing, dressing, etc.) and instrumental support (grocery shopping, housekeeping, managing finances, etc.), family members respond in different ways depending on personal relationships, time, motivation, and financial situations.

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Caregiver Stress

Time Effort – limited personal free time and rest for the caregiver, sleep and recuperation from the day, and the personal health of the caregiver

Financial Hardship – caregivers are often forced to make difficult choices between work and caregiving responsibilities, which may affect career trajectories and future retirement income.

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Current Research – Who Becomes Family Caregivers

Capability - a caregiver is “capable” if he or she has enough discretionary time and lives close enough to realistically provide instrumental care.

Motivation – a desire and sense of obligation after weighing out the costs and benefits. Is there a bond/attachment? What is the expectation of financial hardship of the potential caregiver?

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Caregiving in Retirement

What will I do During My Retirement Years?The Unexpected

Kinship Care• 2.7 million grandparents are responsible

for the basic needs of their grand-children

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Kinship Care

60% of these grandparent caregivers are in the workforce

21% live below the poverty line36% have provided care for the children for

more than five yearsGrandfamilies save tax payers more than 6.5

billion dollars each year by keeping children out of foster care (Generations United, 2010)

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Kinship Care

4,912 grandparents are providing kinship care to grandchildren within Fairfax County (2005-2009 American Community Survey).

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Civic Engagement -Volunteer Opportunities Relative to Caregiving

Volunteer opportunities for Retirees:RSVP - matches the personal interests and skills

of older Americans with opportunities to serve their communities (from a few hours to 40 hours per week). Examples of volunteer opportunities include: Tutoring children, building houses, helping children get immunized

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Volunteer Opportunities (continued)

Senior Companion Program - touch the lives of adults who need extra assistance to live independently in their own homes or communities. Senior companions serve frail older adults, adults with disabilities, those with terminal illnesses, and offer respite for caregivers. They assist their adult clients in basic but essential ways by offering friendship, doing simple chores, providing transportation etc…

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Eldercare Locator

A public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging. It is the first step to finding resources for older adults in any U.S. community. The service links those who need assistance with state and local area agencies on aging and community-based organizations that serve older adults and their caregivers:

http://www.eldercare.gov/Eldercare.NET/Public/Index.aspx

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Advocacy

Caregiver Support Legislation

$3,000 Tax Credit