A tidal wave of caregiving is about to hit U.S. employers as the fastest growing segment of the workforce is age 55 and up, employees who are in their prime caregiving years. Just under half (49%) of the workforce expects to provide care to a family member or friend in the next five years.
Do I have your attention? As an employer, one of the kindest things you can do for your employers is to offer long-term care insurance as “caregiver insurance”. By that I mean, long-term care doesn’t happen to an individual. It happens to the entire family. But this is not a “be nice to your employees” speech. Offering long-term care insurance is really productivity insurance for the employer.
A long-term care event can happen at any age and can quickly take an employee out of work whether the employee needs the care or provides the care. Health insurance and Medicare only pay for short term care, which forces workers to use their own money, and potentially lose their savings, their retirement funds, and even college education funds set aside for their children. While they struggle to keep their jobs and be caregivers, these workers will experience stress, absenteeism, tardiness, distraction, and many will give up their jobs. What does this mean for employers? Loss of productivity, employees quitting their jobs, retraining and replacement costs. At least seven out of ten working caregivers leave the workforce entirely or make a substantial change such as reducing hours or transferring into a less demanding job.
Download your copy of Long-Term Care Insurance is Productivity Insurance for more information like this and how to engage employees in a successful enrollment. Productivity Insurance Employer Brochure
