Alzheimer’s Association 2016 Facts and Figures Report Shows Financial Toll of Caregiving

A new report by the Alzheimer’s Association shows, for the first time, the enormous personal financial sacrifices that millions of care contributors make every day. The report found that:

• Nearly half of caregivers had to cut back on their basic expenses, such as food, transportation, and medical care.
• About 13 percent sold personal belongings, such as a car, jewelry or family heirlooms, to help pay for the costs, and nearly half tapped into savings or retirement funds. On average, people spent more than $5,000 a year of their own money to care for someone with Alzheimer’s disease.
• More than one-third had to reduce their work hours or quit their jobs because of the demands, leading to an average loss of $15,194 in household income compared with the previous year.

The findings show that very few people are prepared for the cost of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, which is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. and is expected to nearly triple in prevalence by 2050.

Source/more: Columbus (OH) Dispatch
Access the full report.

David Wingate is an elder law attorney at the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC. The elder law office services clients with powers of attorneys, living wills, Wills, Trusts, Medicaid and asset protection. The Elder Law office has locations in Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland.