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Marcy Jackson's mother needs
someone to help with shopping, fixing meals,
some housekeeping and transportation to the
doctor. Marcy, who works during the day, is
stretched to give her mother the attention she
needs after work.
"If only," Marcy thinks every day, "I could get
paid for taking care of Mother."
Caregivers taking care of elderly relatives are
spending an average of more than 20 hours each
week giving unpaid care. They give this kind of
care for an average of over 4 years. Many
caregivers have had to make adjustments to their
work hours, cutting back to part-time, or even
quitting their jobs to stay with an elderly
person. Over and above immediate lost salaries,
the lifetime costs in loss of raises and
promotions, retirement and health benefits, and
reduced Social Security income has been
estimated to be $650,000 or more.
And these numbers don't include the hidden costs
of exhaustion and depression as caregivers try
to sandwich other family obligations into the
job and caregiving mix.
How much easier would it be to keep an older
loved one at home if you could be paid for the
time you spend giving care?
Maybe you can.
Until recently most long-term
care insurance policies required that care at
home be provided by a licensed home care agency.
Now it is becoming more common for long-term
care insurers to allow home care benefits to be
used to pay a family member to give care.
Only a small fraction of our senior population
have long-term care insurance. For those who do,
this may be an option.
Twenty-five to thirty percent of
American seniors may qualify for an enhanced VA
pension, informally called the "Aid and
Attendance" benefit, which can be used to pay
anyone for providing necessary care. Veterans
over the age of 65 who served in uniform during
a specified time of war who meet certain
financial guidelines and who have a medical need
for care can qualify for financial assistance
from the VA. Spouses of veterans or
widows/widowers who have not remarried can also
qualify.
The VA designates these benefits as income to be
used to pay for care, but they do not specify
who can be paid to provide the care. Many
veterans use these funds to pay family members
rather than hire strangers.
Getting a senior to accept care
at home from a stranger is often a losing
battle. Many sons and daughters cringe at the
idea of accepting money to care for a parent.
Yet setting up an employment agreement is often
the best of all possible worlds for both parent
and child. It gives the parent their caregiver
of choice, and it gives the family member the
financial ability to be there.
According to elder law attorneys, setting up an
employment contract minimizes the chance that
money paid to a child might be considered a gift
when applying for Medicaid. If properly
prepared, an employment contract also guarantees
that the caregiver's Social Security work
history continues uninterrupted.
A caregiver contract should be carefully
prepared by an attorney who has experience
preparing these documents. Pay should be based
on the standard in the area, and duties should
be spelled out in as much detail as possible.
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