BarbBrooklyn Posted December 2015
Do not give up your job to become a caregiver.
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I think we need this discussion thread as a permanent, ongoing topic. Too many folks come here with the question " how do I get paid..."
I think folks need to understand that as a general rule, this is a terrible idea. I think it's Garden Artist and Freqflyer who have the stats on what is lost in terms of retirement. We need folks to weigh in on " no, it's not the same as staying home with a 3 year old".
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Here are some things to think about if one is trying to decide whether to quit work to care for an aging parent.... on average if a working person quits work he/she will lose over the years between $285,000 and $325,000 which includes not only loss of salary over those years... it also includes the net worth loss of the health insurance coverage.... loss of money being put into Social Security/Medicare..... loss of other benefits such as matching 401(k).... profit sharing.... workman's comp insurance.... company sponsored life insurance.... vacation pay, sick pay.... tuition assistance, etc. [source: in part Reuters 5/30/12]
Babalou, also the one thing I have noticed is that whenever we give information about the slim chances of being paid, there is always a handful of people who come onto the thread asking if they can be paid.... it's like doesn't anyone read the thread first before they ask?
For those who are employable and do make the sacrifice, the losses go well beyond financial. They include the loss of camaraderie, professional affiliations and interactions, satisfaction of jobs well done and of being employable, and of course the biweekly reward that generally goes into one's checking account as well as annual bonuses and raises.
In addition, there are only a few jobs at which I've worked that were really difficult, but nont that required the emotional strain required of caregiving. Caregivers also tolerate a lot more verbal abuse, pressure, work outside of a job description which for all practical purposes is nondescript and expandable, and of course get no medical benefits despite being in high risk situations.
Maybe we should just keep referring the posters who want to get paid to the litany of other posts that have already posed the same question.
I'm adding this post to my caregiving database and from now on (if I remember), I'll reference it whenever someone asks about (a) getting paid by "the government" to stay home and be a caregiver, or (b) quitting a paying job to stay home and be a caregiver.
The next time someone complains about being a shut-in, stay at home caregiver, I'll add that link as well.
Babalou's idea to start this post was a good one; let's keep it going. I think newcomers may not even realize there's a search function with similar posts having been made.
Of course we as caregivers never think of doing a 90-days plan, or 1-year plan. Wish journalist would print more stories about caring for one's parent or even a spouse and what happens when the grown child or remaining spouse has very little income to fall back on.
Today technology gets away from us... thank goodness a person who knew me from the past, who said years ago that some day I will be working for him, did call. We were both senior citizens trying to stick our big toe into current technology.