The baby boomers comprise a large and aging population. As baby boomers and their parents age, more and more people are requiring caregiving in varying levels of intensity. In fact, more than 44 million Americans provide some sort of care for a family member or friend 18 years or older. The National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP conducted the study, called Caregiving in the United States, to find the costs to employers of caregiving employees.

"This study estimates the productivity losses to U.S. business of employees who must make workplace accommodations as a result of caregiving responsibilities. These include costs associated with replacing employees, absenteeism, crisis in care, workday interruptions, supervisory time, unpaid leave, and reducing hours from full-time to part time," according to the study.

Some of the key findings of the study are listed below:

The total estimated cost to employers for full-time employees with intense caregiving responsibilities is $17.1 billion.

The average cost per employee for those with intense caregiving responsibilities is $2,441.

The total estimated cost to employers for all full-time, employed caregivers is $33.6 billion.

The average cost per employee for all full-time, employed caregivers is $2,110.

The majority of family caregivers (79%) are providing care to someone over the age of 50.

Nearly 60% of those caring for an adult over the age of 50 are working; the majority of those work full-time.

Nearly 40% of caregivers are men.

The average age of the caregiver for a person over the age of 50 is 47.

Most caregivers provide unpaid care to a parent or grandparent.

Approximately 15% of the caregivers were providing care to someone who lived at a distance of more than an hour away.

At least 6 out of 10 employed caregivers reported that they had made some work-related adjustments as a result of their caregiving responsibilities.

10% of the employed caregivers reduced their hours from full-time to part-time.

Labels: Baby Boomers, Business, Senior Citizens, Workforce

Those who are looking forward to their retirement are looking forward to the happiest time of their lives, according to a new study. The oldest Americans are the happiest, "and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests," according to an Associated Press article.

"The two go hand-in-hand—being social can help keep away the blues."

"A certain amount of distress in old age is inevitable, including aches, pains and deaths of loved ones and friends. But older people generally have learned to be more content with what they have than younger adults," according to the article.

The study, which included 28,000 people aged 18 to 88, found that "there were ups and downs in overall happiness levels during the study, generally corresponding with good and bad economic times. But at every stage, older Americans were the happiest," according to the article.

"In general, the odds of being happy increased 5 percent with every 10 years of age."

Labels: Senior Citizens

In my earlier post, I wrote about the phenomenon of middle-aged adults moving home with their parents, most of whom are at or near retirement age. While this is not a practical solution for all families, in many cases, it's doable. Perhaps playing role is that U.S. government researchers released a report yesterday which found that, "older Americans have more money and are expected to live far longer than prior generations," according to Reuters.

Data from 15 federal agencies on population trends, economics and health issues were combined to create a report called Older Americans 2008.

"The average net worth of older Americans—those 65 or older—has increased almost 80 percent over the past 20 years," according to Reuters. "And those who reach the age of 65 are now expected to live an average of 19 more years, or seven years longer than people who had reached age 65 in the year 1900."

Medical advances are largely to thank for this increase in life expectancy. And the increasing wealth of senior citizens makes quality health care more accessible to them.

One final finding of the report? "Older adults in the United States are far better educated than prior generations. In 2007, 76 percent of those over 65 had high school diplomas, and at least 19 percent had a bachelor’s degree, up from 24 percent with high school diplomas in 1965 and just 5 percent with bachelor’s degrees."

Labels: Baby Boomers, Life Expectancy, Senior Citizens