A survey by AARP Iowa found the number of caregivers in Iowa has grown to 657,000 people. AARP state director Michael Wagler says helping an adult with various tasks and medical care keeps them out of costly nursing homes, but it takes a financial toll on those providing the care.
“About half the people that identify as a caregiver in our study report that they are taking on debt, they’re draining their savings, or they’re struggling to afford basic food and medicine costs in their own life,”Wagler says.
Eighty percent of the caregivers report that they’re spending money out of their own pocket to provide care for their loved ones.
“And that number is about 72-hundred dollars every year. That’s roughly about a quarter of the average caregiver in Iowa’s income,” he says.
The survey found the average age of a caregiver in Iowa is 51 and that 60 percent are women.
