Employer Sponsored Elder Care Benefits On the Rise
More and more employers are recognizing the need to deal effectively with our aging population by offering elder care benefits to their employees. According to one survey, caregiving issues cost employers $34 billion dollars annually in lost productivity. Some other interesting statistics:
- By 2020, one in three U.S. households is expected to be involved in caring for elderly or disabled relatives, up from one in four today
- About a quarter of all companies currently provide some basic elder-care benefits, mainly referrals that help employees find caregivers and legal services
- Some companies are adding such benefits even as they cut back in other areas, especially health-care coverage, where costs are soaring. Why? Because they are cost effective.
- leave sharing programs
- allowing employees to add an adult relative to the employer's health plan, such as an elderly parent
- state disability programs, such as in California, that allow for partially paid family leave
- emergency elder care services