One million give up work to care
One in six carers give up or cut back work to care and face a significant drop in income which can continue for several years. New research by Ipsos for Carers Rights Day shows the average carer in Britain today cares for around six-and-a-half years clocking up an average of 27 hours a week. With their focus on making sure their partner, parent or disabled child has the care they need, over half haven't thought about or started to save towards their long-term financial future. This includes around a third who haven't even thought this far ahead. A separate study of round-the-clock carers by Carers UK reveals that over a third (35%) had missed out on benefits like Carer's Allowance because they didn't realise they could claim. Half (49%) said that not getting these benefits affected their health and two in five that they were struggling financially. One in five said they were in debt because of missing out. Today Carers UK and the Department for Work and Pensions are calling on all carers to check they get all the financial help and practical support on offer. Imelda Redmond, Chief Executive of Carers UK said:
"Caring can take a massive toll on carers' finances. Whilst facing hugely reduced incomes from giving up work or reducing their hours, carers face all the additional costs of care. With potentially a decade of caring ahead of them, Carers UK urges carers to seek advice and claim the benefits they are entitled to."
Minister of State for Pensions and Ageing Society Angela Eagle said:
"From April next year, Government reforms will enable people who look after someone for more than 20 hours a week to build up entitlement to a basic state pension, thereby helping those who may not even think of themselves as a carer safeguard their financial future."
Technical Note:
Ipsos surveyed 3946 adults aged 16 and over, 655 were current (426) or past (229) carers. Fieldwork was undertaken160face-to-face in November 2009. The figures were subsequently weighted and are representative of all GB adults. Key findings:
- 9% of carers had given up work and 7% had reduced their hours to care
- 29% of carers are caring for over 50 hours a week
- The average number years carers had cared for is 6.46 years.
- The average number of years they expected to care for is 13 years with 29% expecting to care for a least another 15 years.
- 32% of carers have not thought about their long-term financial future with an additional 24% having thought about it but not started saving towards it.160
352 carers responded to a Carers UK survey in November 2009.
Key findings:
- 35% of carers had missed out on State benefits because they didn't realise they could claim them
- 49% said not getting these benefits affected their health, 20% said they were struggling financially and 20% said they were in debt.
- Of those missing out on financial support 20% said they would not now be in debt if they had claimed, 40% said they would not now be struggling financially `all the time'
- 77% of carers surveyed cared for 50 or more hours a week.
- 9% had missed out on Carer's Allowance for 3-5 years, 10% for 5-10 years and 14% for over 10 years, because they did not realise they were entitled to it.
- 52% felt their had a gap in their National Insurance record when they were working or not claiming benefits, which could reduce their pensions in retirement.
