56 percent willing to dip into retirement savings to be family caregiver: survey

56 percent willing to dip into retirement savings to be family caregiver: survey
McKnights Senior Living; by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 5/23/24 
Fifty-six percent of Americans participating in a new survey said they would be willing to take a loan from their own retirement fund to become a caregiver for someone else. Results of the Nationwide Retirement Institute 2024 Long-Term Care Survey were released Tuesday. The research, conducted online March 12 through April 2 by The Harris Poll on behalf of Nationwide, surveyed 1,334 adults aged 28 or more years who had household incomes of at least $75,000. Dipping into retirement savings can make a serious dent into long-term finances. Forty-two percent of the respondents said they believe that being a family caregiver likely will use up the money they had planned for the future, and 43% of the total said that they are afraid that caregiving expenses will keep them from ever retiring.
Editor's Note: Pair this with another article in today's newsletter, "The real cost of cancer: 49% of patients carry $5K+ in medical debt."