Family caregiving typically includes fixing meals, doing housework, personal care such as bathing, dressing, and feeding, and transporting loved ones to the doctor. The value of such caregiving to our society has been estimated at $306 billion annually and will continue to rise due to the fact that 10,000 people everyday are turning 62.
Caregivers; provide an average of 21 hours of care per week and although this is ?free? care, it is not without cost to the caregiver. Many caregivers feel isolated and stressed by balancing work, family, and caregiving.
In a study by MetLife, at least 6 out of 10 employed caregivers reported that they had made some work-related adjustments as a result of their caregiving responsibilities. Often caregivers have to leave their job, take early retirement, or reduce their hours from full-time to part-time. ?Where or how will they replace the losses?
One hundred percent of caregivers surveyed in a study by ?Everycare? say their personal health has gotten worse as a result of their caregiving. The most common results of worsened health for caregivers included: energy and sleep (87%), stress and/or panic attacks (70%), pain and aching (60%), depression (52%), headaches (41%), and weight gain/loss (38%).
Of those surveyed in the Everycare study, 53 percent said that their health problems were increasingly affecting their ability to provide care. Despite their health problems, caregiving responsibilities do not subside for these caregivers.
Family members providing care for aging parents struggle to have time for themselves and their families. They jeopardize their health and put their own ability to retire at risk when they can no longer balance work and caregiving.
Respecting the wishes of aging parents to stay in their own home often complicates the ability to give care, especially if the aging parents are long-distance.
A reverse mortgage can be the ideal solution for keeping aging parents in their home for as long as possible by affording the products and services that ease caregiving efforts.
RM?s; enable homeowners 62 and older to borrow a portion of the equity in their home with no repayment for as long as they live in their home. It does not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits. Plus, it allows for a temporary stay in the hospital or a nursing home not to mention the availability for home health care.
?We are able to structure the reverse mortgage so that it best serves the needs of the senior family member being cared for, as to provide the money needed for care. ?This may include a combination of a lump sum upfront for immediate needs, monthly payments to cover ongoing care, and a line-of-credit to draw from for unexpected or larger caregiving expenses.? In this mortgage there are no limitations or control as to how the monies are spent, so they can be used for anything at all to provide care.
In some areas of the country there are also assisted living facilities, which are sold as condos, the family could in fact purchase the condo and then sell the home in the future to pay back the loan. There are many options available with the mortgage that will give caregivers piece of mind.
Funds from the reverse mortgage can provide family caregivers relief by paying for adult day care, home cleaning services, home health care, errand and companionship services, a medical alert system, transportation services, home modifications, as well as products that make bathing or other daily caregiving activities easier to handle.
To learn more about reverse mortgages, and who provides a free reverse mortgage informational package and confidential estimate by calling the number listed.
I am a Reverse Mortgage Specialist I have spent over 20 years as a Real Estate broker and the last 10 years in the mortgage industry, and 5 of them providing Reverse Mortgages. My years as a professional, I have always felt that helping our seniors is helping the back bone of this country. Our seniors are the ones who made this country great and in the time of their lives that is so suppose to be their golden years, it is in many cases painted black. I have dedicated my life to helping them achieve some sort of financial independence and help them to enjoy the fruits of their labors.