The Nexus Between Caregiving and the Aging Population

The United States’ population is aging at a rapid pace, and it is projected that this aging population will require the assistance of caregivers to help with a range of needs. In addition, society is facing a population reconfiguration that may require a shift of societal resources. McKinsey & Company calculated that “In 1950, for every person over the age of 65, there were 11.7 working-age people. Today, there are 7, and this is expected to shrink to 4.4 by 2040.”

The Aging Population

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that older adults will outnumber children by 2034, meaning 23.4 percent of the American population will be at least 65 years of age or older and 19.8 percent of the American population will be children under 18. In 2020, there were 490,390 Kansans, or 16.7 percent of the Kansas population, who were older than or equal to age 65. Centenarians (people aged 100 years or older) are the fastest growing age group, and they are expected to number 1 million in the United States by 2050 (PDF).

Caregivers

A caregiver is defined by the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary as “a person who provides direct care (as for children, elderly people, or the chronically ill).”

The most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics indicate that 1 in 5 Kansas adults are caregivers. Caregivers are 40 percent men, 60 percent women; 25 percent are 65 years or older; 34 percent are caring for a parent or parent-in-law; and 9 percent are providing care to someone with dementia. Caregiving is usually a lengthy time commitment, with more than half of caregivers providing care for at least two years. The role is also intense, with 25 percent of caregivers providing at least 20 hours of caregiving each week. A majority of caregivers (80 percent) manage household tasks, and at least 50 percent of caregivers assist with personal care.

Value of Caregiving

In March 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics used data from two surveys to conclude the following, in part: “For older Americans and for Americans who are living with a chronic illness or a disability, informal caregiving can make an important difference between living independently at home and living in a nursing home. Often, informal care is provided by adults in midlife with many demands on their time.”

In October 2021, McKinsey & Company published an interview in which they indicated that “prepandemic, it was already estimated that unpaid caregivers were providing value to the US economy to the tune of $3.2 trillion. A more recent study pinned the spending of care-related activities as high as $648 billion, making it a larger economy than pharmaceuticals.”