Next financial crisis: Caring for parents

NAPLES, Fla., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Caregivers of aging parents face a triple financial threat: unplanned expenses, less money for their needs and less time at work, a U.S. survey indicates.

The survey, conducted by the Web site AgingCare, says 63 percent of caregivers have no plan as to how they will pay for their parents' care over the next five years and 62 percent say the cost of caring for a parent has affected their ability to plan for their own financial future.

"With an estimated 34 million Americans providing care for older family members, the survey's results indicate a financial crisis in the making," Joe Buckheit, publisher of AgingCare, a Web site and online forum for family caregivers, says in a statement.

The survey also says that:

-- 54 percent have sacrificed spending money on themselves to pay for care of their parents.

-- 43 percent have had to take time off work due to caregiving responsibilities.

-- 48 percent say they are earning less money at work as a result of caregiving.

-- 25 percent have been fired or had to quit their job as a result of caregiving.

The survey, conducted during July, has a margin of error of 6 percentage points.