It’s no surprise that an aging workforce is willing to invest in resources to protect them in the long term. In fact, according to a recent study by Genworth, four out of five Americans want the option to buy long-term care insurance through their employers.
“The challenges of aging impact everyone,” says Brian Harrington, senior vice president, group long term care insurance, at Genworth. “We focus on this issue every day and conducted the consumer sentiment survey as part of our commitment to help foster a dialogue among families and the nation about the importance of preparing financially for long term care.”
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The survey’s 1,200 respondents included millennials, gen-Xers and baby boomers. Surprisingly, it was millennials who showed most enthusiasm for LTC insurance benefits—92 percent reported being somewhat likely to buy coverage, compared to 89 percent of gen-Xers and 84 percent of boomers.
For employers, LTC insurance is a stopgap against lost productivity among employees also serving as caregivers. LTC insurance is attractive to employees because of its portability and ease of enrollment. Also of interest: the ability to offer the benefit to immediate family members, which appealed to 87 percent of respondents (with millennials again most enthusiastic at 92 percent).
“Younger employees realize they may ultimately be responsible for caring for their parents, and encouraging their parents to buy long term care insurance coverage can lift some of the worry as well as the financial and physical demands of caregiving off their shoulders,” Harrington says.
The average age of LTC recipients, surprisingly, is actually declining. In 2010, 81 percent of recipients were above age 65; in 2015, that number had dropped to 60 percent, according to a different Genworth survey, driven in part by an increase in accident-related care needs.
“Considering the strong likelihood that most of us will be touched by long term care, either as a recipient of care or as a caregiver, employers are in a unique position to help employees address the very real-life challenges of aging in a meaningful way,” Harrington says.
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Emily Payne
Emily Payne is director, content analytics for ALM's Business & Finance Markets and former managing editor for BenefitsPRO. A Wisconsin native, she has spent the past decade writing and editing for various athletic and fitness publications. She holds an English degree and Business certificate from the University of Wisconsin.
