A recent study by the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College has found that less than 20 percent of men and women in their 60s need care.
However, by age 85, more than half will require assistance to perform such daily activities as cook meals, tie their shoes, and just get out of bed. Unfortunately, the burden may fall on adult children who are aging themselves.
According to CRR research, nearly 17 percent of children will provide parental care at some point in their lives. That burden in the years to come will indeed rest more heavily on children age 70 and older, who may have trouble bending and lifting things, too.
America’s changing culture is also set to work against Baby Boomers. Divorce has been more common in this demographic than in previous generations, while many children have moved further from home for work and lifestyle reasons while their parents were still able.
The CRR cautions that an average couple aged 65 incur approximately $200,000 in uncovered medical expenses, and the cost of this is likely to fall on the “already overburdened Medicaid system.”
