How Not To Tear Your Family Apart

Caregiving Impacts Retirement

In our story, Jodi is her parent’s caregiver. Aside from the effect it’s having on her overall well-being, she overlooks how the demands of caring for her mother are already negatively impacting her ability to advance her career. Eventually, like so many caregivers, she hasn’t even thought about the complications if her father also needs care. She also hasn’t thought about if something were to happen to her husband and she was no longer covered under his plan, she would need the salary and worksite benefits attached to her own employment. How will she manage if care duties result in her voluntary or involuntary termination. Aside from the consequences of losing her employee benefits, long term she jeopardizes income dedicated to her envisioned retirement lifestyle since she will likely not have funds to contribute to an employee sponsored or personal retirement savings plan. An additional financial consequence is the negative impact that the lower or absent income will have on her eventual Social Security benefit.