A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (2/21/2024) considered the many reasons why a record number of people are leaving retirement to go back to work. One of those reasons is the high cost of providing care to a family member.
According to a Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis report, the fraction of Americans aged 65 to 69 working jobs rose from one-quarter to one-third from 2000 to 2024. Although it is unclear how many of those retirement age (traditionally 65+) workers retired and then unretired, experts point to survey data that suggests it is a lot. One survey found that one in eight retirees plan to go back to work this year.
A major reason cited by the article is the unforeseen cost of caregiving — for elderly parents, spouses, family or friends, children and grandchildren. Many people simply failed to budget the proper amount for expensive caregiving. The price of a home-health aide rose 12.5% from 2020 to 2021.
The effects of caregiving on income and retirement savings can have a long tail. One man profiled in the article is returning to work partly because caring for an elderly parent diminished his income during the prime earning years of his business. Sometimes it’s not just the sacrifice of time to caregiving; sometimes its the timing of the sacrifice.
So, as this website devotes itself to exploring how caregiving affects the current worker, we nod to the millions of former workers who are returning partly because of the cost of caregiving.
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