November 2022 is the 25th annual nationally recognized National Family Caregiving Month, and Givers is proud to present its annual National Family Caregivers Month (NFCM) Report: The Current State of Family Caregiving 2022, based on data collected in September 2022. The report includes results from a population-representative sample of 1,010 family caregivers, highlighting the significant impacts of COVID and the precarious economic environment (drawing major changes from AARP's 2020 survey of 1,392 caregivers).
The theme for 2022's National Family Caregivers Month is "#CaregivingHappens" to represent the reality that caregiving happens every day in every way. Caregiving happens when we are working, when we are trying to get out the door to the grocery store, or when we are out to dinner.
Our survey results highlight the results of when #CaregivingHappens in 2022. Much has changed in the last year–inflation, the new post-COVID normal, the labor market, wages, and more. This study highlights the unique impacts that family caregivers are facing, with the following areas being examined:
Family caregivers are the unspoken backbone of our healthcare system and society. At the last report, before the beginning of COVID, there were 53 million Americans taking care of their loved ones unpaid, meaning that more than 1 in 5 Americans are caregivers, having provided care to an adult or child with special needs at some time in the past 12 months.
AARP estimates that family caregivers provide $470B in unpaid care each year based on hours worked. Caregiving activities may include helping with personal needs or household chores. It might be managing a person's finances, performing nursing tasks, arranging for outside services, or simply visiting regularly to see how they are doing.
With the costs of paid care rising and skilled labor being supply-constrained, family caregivers are set to take on an ever-increasing role in the well-being of their loved ones. With more responsibility, compounded by a tumultuous economic environment, family caregivers face significant burdens and uncertainty.
Since inflation began in March 2022, 42% of caregivers have taken on more debt. More than 1 in 3 have used up personal short-term savings, left bills unpaid, and/or borrowed money from friends or family. To fund care, caregivers are sacrificing vacations (50%), investing (33%), paying for their own healthcare (28%), paying for their own or family's education (21%), and more.
While this report highlights several areas in which caregivers are feeling stressed, there are some positive findings. Despite some family caregivers reporting they do not choose to be in their role, most have a significantly optimistic view (84% enjoy caring for their loved one, and only 1 in 4 have considered giving up on caregiving).
We're surrounded by family caregivers. They're our neighbors, retail associates, public servants, and loved ones. With the population over 65 driving more than a third of healthcare costs (set to double by 2050), now is the time to invest in supporting those who are there for them when no one else is. 99.5% of respondents favor public policy support for unpaid family caregivers.
Society's increasing ask of caregivers is compounded by a tumultuous economic environment, leading loyal family members to face exceptional burdens and uncertainty. 45% of caregivers report being financially strained, up dramatically from 18% in 2020.
Unstable financial situations are colliding with our economy–caregiving is the second-largest factor keeping people out of work, behind early retirements.
Caregiving is a massive threat to our workforce and society. It's important that we create infrastructure to pay people who care for their loved ones so they can afford a decent life or pay for care while they rejoin an employer.
There is currently a patchwork of funding sources available to family caregivers. However, these sit behind hours of paperwork across Medicaid, the Department of Veterans Affairs, long-term care insurance, tax credits, and private pay solutions. Even if exhausted caregivers could find the time and energy to navigate this system, the fact is that the solutions that exist today apply to a fraction of the more than 1 in 5 Americans taking care of a loved one.
As an antidote to our partisan political environment, caregiving is a unifying issue that Congress and President Biden should take action on today. Caring for loved ones crosses party lines and carries significant weight: 73% of family caregivers would be more inclined to support a candidate advocating for caregiver programs.
As policymakers draft an end-of-year tax extender bill during this National Family Caregivers Month, they should know that 80% of voters 50 or older support the bipartisan Credit for Caring Act, which would provide a tax credit of up to $5,000 to family caregivers for expenses they incur while caring. While this doesn't solve caregivers' challenges, making a tax credit available to put money back in the pockets of caregivers is a win-win for the government and the people.
