Why Gen Xers Are Way More Worried About Money
Than Boomers
"From my reading of these studies and interviewing a few money experts, it looks like caregiving challenges, significant debt and job problems account for much of why Generation X is hurting financially and hurting much more than boomers, generally speaking.
Surya Kolluri, managing director of Bank of America, calls this “360-degree pressures,” particularly when it comes to retirement planning.
... According to AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, Gen X caregivers are typically employed and most say caregiving has had at least one impact on their work — such as needing to go in late, leave early or take time off to provide care. They’re also more likely than older caregivers to report financial impacts due to providing care; often they’ve stopped saving or have used up short-term savings or taken on more debt."
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From: Next Avenue | December 23, 2020
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Melinda Gates: Our Nation’s Broken Caregiving System
"The coronavirus has laid bare what was painfully clear to many families already: The caregiving system in the United States is broken, and it is women who are paying the price.
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... Now, with child-care centers closed, schools operating remotely and families caring for sick adults and aging parents at home, what was previously untenable has become almost impossible — especially for single mothers, essential workers and others working low-wage jobs with unpredictable hours."
From: Washington Post Opinions | December 2, 2020
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Ai-jen Poo: A Chance to Reimagine Caregiving
"The pandemic helped us as a nation begin to focus specifically—and broadly—on how we are ensuring our families have the care they need in a holistic way. ... Yet our policies and programs were patchwork at best—the infrastructure to support working families didn’t exist, and Covid-19 made us all feel the urgency and pain of it. This is our moment to address our family care needs in America. Our growing movement is uniting to put care at the forefront of our vision for recovery, and there is reason for optimism."
From: The Nation | December 4, 2020
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As the Next Avenue article above has shown, Gen X caregivers experience more financial challenges than Baby Boomer caregivers. With the pandemic leading to school closures and to individuals taking care of children as well as disabled and aging relatives at home, the stress of Gen X caregivers, the largest group of sandwich caregivers in the U.S., has only grown.
But this population of caregivers was already experiencing higher levels of financial strain prior to COVID-19. According to Caring Across Generations and NAC's 2019 report on sandwich caregivers, "most Gen X sandwich caregivers reported having worked in the past year while providing care (64 percent), working 36.4 hours a week on average. These Gen X sandwich caregivers have experienced negative work impacts more often as a result of their caregiving role (65 percent vs. 46 percent of baby boomer sandwich caregivers), including 26 percent who took a leave of absence to provide care. Perhaps due to these work impacts, 25 percent of Gen X sandwich caregivers reported high levels of financial strain as a result of caregiving (compared to 12 percent for baby boomers)"
Click the red link below to learn more and check out the report.
For information and tips for Gen X caregivers during COVID-19, check out this article from AARP HERE.
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RAISE Act, State Policies, and NASHP’s State Medicaid Policy Institute on Family Caregiving
January 13, 2021 | 3 PM EST | Online
Family caregiver contributions offset the cost of personal care services and can delay the need for more costly care. Hear about ways states can improve their family caregiving supports, including:
- The RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council’s newly adopted recommendations to better support family caregivers;
- Information from a Wisconsin state leader who will describe state innovations to support family caregivers; and
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A new opportunity for states to participate in a state Medicaid policy institute for family caregiving. Learn more and apply HERE.
Moderator:
Wendy Fox-Grage, NASHP Project Director, RAISE Family Caregiver Resource and Dissemination Center
Speakers:
- Rani Snyder, Program Vice President, The John A. Hartford Foundation
- Greg Link, Director, Office of Supportive and Caregiver Services, ACL
- Kitty Purington, NASHP Senior Program Director, NASHP
- Carrie Molke, Director, Wisconsin Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources
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Brain Health and Aging Seminar
January 23, 2021 | 12:00 - 12:30 PM EST | Online
AGE of Central Texas will host the free virtual caregiver support seminar exploring “Brain Health and Aging” on Saturday, January 23, 2021 as part of the on-going workshop series to help family members effectively care for an older adult. The free seminar will be held from 12:00 to 12:30 AM EST online.
Registration for the conference is free, but space is limited. Participants can register by calling (512) 600-9275, or online with the red link below.
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What’s Next Longevity Innovation Summit
March 1, 2021 | Washington, D.C. | Virtual
Position your company as a leader in the longevity market, make connections with leaders in this space, and gain a unique perspective on how five generations are impacted by an aging population.
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World Carers Conversation
December 13-16, 2020
The National Alliance for Caregiving and Embracing Carers convened experts from around the world for a virtual World Carers Conversation.
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RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council Convening
November 18, 2020
"On Nov. 18, 2020, the RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council convened to review and vote on a set of recommendations to support family caregivers, across the lifespan, for inclusion in its initial report to Congress. The council is tasked with creating a National Family Caregiving Strategy, as required by the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family Caregivers Act of 2018 (the RAISE Act)."
From: NASHP | December 14, 2020
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CALL FOR STORIES ABOUT AGING
Generations Today Seeking First-Person Accounts
Alison Biggar, Editorial Director for the American Society on Aging, is looking for first-person stories. Each Generations Today issue has a column called First Person Singular, personal stories by people who have gone through something with either parents or a close friend who’s older, or perhaps they are older themselves and have a story to tell. I might be a story about growing up with older adults and how it impacted their decision to work with elders or about their work with older adults.
Check out two recent examples HERE and HERE.
Alison says that "sometimes the reality of aging and how we care for others can be best portrayed by personal pieces."
Do you have a story to tell that you might be willing to tell? If so, please reach out to Alison at [email protected].
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Apply to Be a Health and Aging Policy Fellow
Deadline: April 15, 2021
Candidates with a strong commitment to health and aging issues, leadership potential, and interest in aging-relevant policy work are invited to join the next class of Health and Aging Policy Fellows (2021-2022).
The Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program continues to make great strides in advancing policy with creative solutions in the context of COVID-19.
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Promoting Caregiving Across the Full Community |
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The Alzheimer's Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have collaborated on a new action brief, Promoting Caregiving Across the Full Community: The Role for Public Health Strategists. The brief offers an overview of the challenges of caregiving for people living with dementia, then provides state, local, and tribal public health leaders with a framework and resources for action.
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Rethinking Care for Older Adults |
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The Convergence Center for Policy Resolution brought together almost 50 experts on care for older adults in three meetings to brainstorm on the practice, policy, and business model changes needed to transform the system of care and the range of institutions.
See a summary of the conversations and their transformational ideas
with the red link below.
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FOLLOW US TO STAY CURRENT ON CAREGIVING! |
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