With our aging population, greater longevity, rapidly accelerating costs of care and near universal lack of preparation, long term care is not only a societal issue, but also an issue increasingly aimed at women. Why? Because when it comes to the twin risks of giving and receiving care, women fall into the significant majority of both groups. These risks often put women in great financial danger, particularly later in life.
More often than not, a woman fulfills the responsibilities of providing care. Women represent the vast majority of professional or “formal” care-givers as well as serving as the primary deliverers of “informal” home care for family members. According to Morith, “In a family with a female, it will probably be her.”
It is estimated that approximately 75 percent of those providing home care are female — most often a daughter.(2) In addition, women spend 50 percent more time giving care than men do.(3)
* When women become caregivers, they are 2.5 times more likely to end up in poverty and five times more likely to depend on Social Security.(9)
