Marketplace Features

Series Program Segments

Companies offer eldercare benefits Increasingly, employees are faced with balancing work and their parents. Companies lose billions of dollars each year in productivity when adult kids struggle to care for aging parents. Nearly 20% of the American workforce is caring for elderly parents. Some big corporations have taken note and have started offering new benefits to help employees care for their aging moms and dads. But so far, workers have been slow to use these corporate eldercare benefits. Some are worried their bosses could pass over them for promotions if they use eldercare -- because they wouldn't be seen as giving 110%. Thursday, July 24, 2003 Reporter: Sarah Gardner [ online resources ]

Men become the primary caregivers As the modern family changes, modern men have had to adapt. Now, more and more men are becoming the primary caregivers for aging relatives. Family members in the U.S. are providing $257 billion in free care for older people -- and increasingly, it’s being done by men. A study by the Families and Work Institute found working men are almost as likely as working women to provide care for an older relative. Problem is, many men don’t talk to their co-workers and supervisors about their increased responsibilities. And, many employers don’t realize this is an issue that cuts across their entire workforce: elder care issues cost employers $11.4 billion a year. Wednesday, July 23, 2003 Reporter: Stephen Henn [ online resources ]

Seniors having trouble caring for their aging parents What’s the fastest growing demographic group in the country? In percentage terms, it’s the very, very old. The U.S. Census Bureau expects the number of Americans 100 years or older to double in the next 10 years -- and this presents some unique challenges for anyone taking care of the uber-elderly, especially for their full-grown children. Senior citizens are now, more and more, caring for their parents. Over the last 100 years, the population of Americans 85 and older has grown 10 times as fast as the population as a whole. But the problem is, when the children become seniors themselves, it becomes quite difficult to care for an aging parent. Tuesday, July 22, 2003 Reporter: Stephen Henn [ online resources ]

Who’ll care for ‘boomers when they become "generation geriatric?" By 2020, the number of senior citizens in America will double, hitting 70 million. And, it’s estimated that 12 million of these seniors will need nursing care. But who is going to provide this? While family members provide a huge part of America’s safety net now, if the baby-boomers expect this to continue, they’re in for a rude awakening. ‘Boomers will be the first generation in U.S. history that has to buy much of this care itself. Since Medicare doesn’t cover long-term nursing care, this huge expense could fall in their laps. The best way to make sure folks get the care they need later in life? Purchase long-term care insurance now. Monday, July 21, 2003 Reporter: Stephen Henn

Online Resources:

General Info.:
www.asktransitions.com: Transitions Elder Care Consulting
www.aoa.gov: Administration on Aging
www.ssab.gov: Social Security Advisory Board article: "What Will Happen When the Baby Boomers Retire?"

U.S. Census Bureau articles on the elderly:
www.census.gov: "The Elderly Population"
www.census.gov: "Sixty-Five Plus in the United States"

Planning for Long-Term Care:
www.wiser.heinz.org: Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement's primer on Long-Term Care Insurance
www.aarp.org: AARP's section on long-term care

Resources for Caregivers:
www.caregiving.org: The National Alliance for Caregiving
www.eldercare.gov: Eldercare Locator. Since 1991, the Eldercare Locator, a nationwide toll-free service, has helped older adults and their caregivers find local services for seniors.
www.caps4caregivers.org: Children of Aging Parents. A nonprofit, charitable organization that assists the nation's nearly 54 million caregivers of the elderly or chronically ill with reliable info., referrals and support
www.ec-online.net: Elder Care Online