Our population is aging fast. By 2035, 78 million Americans will be 65 or older, yet access to elder care isn’t keeping pace. Rising costs, limited resources, and increasingly complex care needs mean employees must step in to fill the gap to care for their family members.
Without support, this juggling act leads to higher stress, absenteeism, and even turnover, impacting both employees and businesses. Employers recognize this challenge and are responding with elder care benefits. This blog explores different types of elder care benefits and their advantages to both employees and employers.
What are elder care benefits for employees?
Elder care benefits are programs and resources employers offer to support employees who are caring for aging loved ones. These benefits help employees manage the emotional, logistical, and financial challenges of caregiving while maintaining their work responsibilities.
Elder care benefits are designed to make caregiving tasks – like helping with meals, household chores, personal care, or transportation – more manageable. They often include access to services like professional coaching, emotional well-being resources, flexible work options, and other supports that ease the caregiving burden.
With the average elder caregiver spending 20 hours a week providing care, these benefits can be the critical support employees need to successfully balance their careers and caregiving responsibilities.
Types of employer-sponsored elder care benefits
Elder care benefits help employees navigate the challenges of caregiving by providing essential resources and guidance, reducing stress, and allowing people to focus on both their work and their families.
Common elder care benefits for employees include:
- Backup care – A reliable short-term care solution for when regular caregiving plans fall through. Access to subsidized, on-demand elder caregiving support helps employees remain focused at work, knowing they have a solution to caring for their aging loved ones.
- Personalized coaching support – A caregiver support benefit that provides personalized coaching from elder care experts, helping employees explore all available care options, assess quality and affordability, navigate difficult conversations, and make informed decisions that best fit their needs.
- Emotional well-being resources – Employer-sponsored therapy and support groups to help employees take care of themselves while they invest so much in caring for their aging loved ones.
- Flexible work options – With flexible hours and remote work options, employees have more opportunities to balance caregiving responsibilities with professional duties.
- Caregiving stipends – There is often a significant financial burden when supporting aging loved ones, with some employees spending an average of more than $7,000 annually on out-of-pocket expenses. Stipends provide financial support for elder care expenses like transportation to appointments, medical supplies, or other essential care costs.
Why your employees need elder care benefits
While much attention is given to childcare benefits, elder caregiving benefits are often overlooked – yet they’re just as critical. Studies show 37.1 million Americans provide unpaid elder care, with nearly half caregiving multiple times a week and 25% providing care daily. However, 80% of working caregivers feel companies are more understanding of childcare issues than elder caregiving responsibilities.
The hidden burnout crisis among working caregivers
Employees caring for aging loved ones often experience caregiver stress and burnout –
physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion. An AARP study found that over 60% of caregivers report burnout symptoms, including fatigue, stress, withdrawal, anxiety, and depression.
A major driver of this burnout is work-life imbalance, as employees struggle to juggle job responsibilities and caregiving. The same AARP study found that 67% of caregivers have difficulty balancing both roles, with 27% reducing their work hours and 16% temporarily stepping away from the workforce to meet caregiving demands.
The financial burden of caregiving is growing
The rising cost of care is placing increasing strain on working families. The Cariloop 2025 Employee Caregiver Top Needs Report highlights affordable senior living as one of the most urgent challenges today. Assisted living costs now average $4,774 per month, while in-home care costs often exceed $5,000 monthly.
Meanwhile, healthcare expenses are rising, people are living longer, and many seniors lack the retirement savings needed to fund prolonged care. In turn, caregivers are often left to cover essential expenses out of pocket – from medications and durable medical equipment to long-term care services.
This financial pressure is taking a measurable toll. A report from the National Alliance for Caregiving shows that 28% of caregivers have stopped saving, 23% have increased their debt, and 22% have depleted their short-term savings. Additionally, 37% report that rising costs have increased their financial burden.
How caregiving complexity impacts workplace productivity
The toll of caregiving on employees extends beyond the home – it also impacts workplace productivity. Research shows that caregiving reduces work productivity by an average of one-third, costing employers approximately $5,600 per caregiver each year. The losses are even greater among employees caring for older adults with complex needs.
Much of this strain comes from the growing complexity of caregiving itself. Navigating Medicare and Medicaid has become increasingly difficult due to shifting eligibility rules, rising costs, and more intricate plan structures. Beyond system challenges, working caregivers are often tasked with managing emotionally charged family conversations – like removing driving privileges from a parent or coordinating new living arrangements. Without support, caregiving complexity leads to higher absenteeism, lower engagement, and reduced focus, impacting both employees and organizations.
Top Elder Care Needs: What Today’s Working Caregivers Are Facing
Behind every request for support is a caregiver trying to juggle work, family, and the rising complexity of elder care. For our 2025 Employee Caregiver Top Needs Report, we analyzed data from over 24,000 Cariloop users. Here’s what today’s working caregivers are up against:
- Healthcare costs are soaring, driving a 22% year-over-year spike in financial assistance requests.
- Legal needs are growing, with a 24% increase in requests tied to financial strain and planning challenges.
- Navigating Medicare and Medicaid has become the second most common reason caregivers seek help, as the systems grow more complicated and confusing.
- Tough family conversations are on the rise, with a 35% surge in requests for support in handling decisions like taking away car keys or changing living arrangements.
The caregiving landscape is shifting fast, and without the right support, the burden continues to fall heavily on employees.
Download the full 2025 Employee Caregiver Top Needs Report to explore the trends shaping the future of caregiving – and what employers can do to help.
The business case for offering elder care benefits
As more employees take on caregiving responsibilities, organizations providing elder care benefits are emerging as employers of choice. Supporting caregivers leads to a healthier, more engaged workforce while driving measurable business results.
Boost productivity and retention – Caregiving responsibilities cost employers an estimated $44 billion annually in lost productivity and increased employee turnover. You can maintain high productivity and retain top talent by providing resources such as flexible hours and remote work options, or coaching from elder care experts.
Reduce absenteeism – Nearly 1 in 4 employed caregivers report absenteeism due to care responsibilities. These unplanned absences leave teams short-staffed and can reduce productivity by up to 36%. Additionally, costs rise from hiring, onboarding, overtime, and downtime. Elder care benefits, like backup care and access to professional caregiving resources, help employees manage their responsibilities and miss less work.
Increase engagement – Employees who feel unsupported and overwhelmed are less engaged and motivated. The American Psychological Association found that 90% of employees who feel valued are highly motivated, compared to just 33% of those who don’t. Eldercare benefits – like therapy access, support groups, and stipends – help employees feel cared for while reducing mental and financial stress so they can stay focused and engaged at work.
Attract top talent – According to an S&P Global/AARP survey, nearly 87% of Human Resources professionals agree that caregiving policies help attract talent. With millennials and Gen Xers comprising the majority of working caregivers, many of your current and future employees are balancing adult caregiving responsibilities. Elder caregiving stipends, flexible work options, and paid leave can set you apart as an employer and attract top talent in today’s competitive job market.
Lower healthcare costs – Caregiving impacts employees’ health, increasing healthcare costs for employers. Many caregivers, pressed for time, skip doctor visits and report poor eating and exercise habits. A Guardian Life Insurance report found that 41% of caregivers have low well-being. By providing support to manage caregiving challenges and improve employee well-being, you can reduce healthcare expenses.
Providing elder care benefits with Cariloop
Caring for an aging loved one often means navigating tough decisions, difficult conversations, and complex information. Cariloop is here to help you connect your employees with trusted elder care resources and support, from personalized guidance to a pre-screened provider network and practical planning tools.
Contact us today to learn how Cariloop’s elder care support can be easily incorporated into your existing benefits package.