Caregiving Employees Stay in Workforce Twice as Long When Long-term Care Insurance is in Place for Care Recipient.

Business Editors

WESTPORT, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2001

Employees who care for elderly or sick relatives with long-term care insurance are twice as likely to stay in the workforce as those caring for relatives without it, according to the MetLife Study of Employed Caregivers: Does Long-Term Care Insurance Make a Difference?

The recent study of 288 working caregivers, conducted for the MetLife Mature Market Institute by the National Alliance for Caregiving and LifePlans, Inc., found that the presence of insurance also allows for less stress and less job "flight."

The analysis of working caregiver data from three national surveys points to the fact that those caring for disabled elders who have long-term care insurance (LTCI) are nearly two times more likely to be able to continue working than those caring for non-insured relatives.

In addition, working caregivers of those with LTCI said that they were less likely to experience some type of stress, such as having to give constant attention to the care recipient or having to do caregiving while not feeling well themselves. Thirdly, those with LTCI devote more "quality time" - more companionship and less hands-on assistance with basic living activities - than those without.

"This is more evidence for employers that offering corporate eldercare benefits that support caregivers, such as flextime and long-term care insurance may contribute to workplace productivity and tenure," said Gail Hunt, Executive Director of the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC).

"This study provides vital information for employers. It tells them that offering programs that help employees balance work and family caregiving is an effective way to retain them," said Joyce Ruddock, Vice-President of Metlife's Long-Term Care Division. "We see, from this study, that employees are happier and less stressed when long term care insurance is there to help them pay for in-home care, respite care and incidentals to alleviate the work of the caregiver. Tax-deductibility for long-term care insurance premiums, an item currently before Congress, would also help family caregivers."

The 1997 National Caregiver Survey produced by the NAC and AARP revealed that nearly 25% of U.S. households contain a family caregiver. The typical family caregiver, according to that survey, is a 46-year-old woman who cares for her 77-year-old mother who lives nearby.

The 1999 MetLife Juggling Act Study found that caregiving costs individuals upwards of $659,000 over their lifetimes in lost wages, lost social security and pension contributions because they take time off, leave their jobs entirely or experience compromised opportunities for training, promotions and "plum" assignments.

The Mature Market Institute is MetLife's focal point and resource center for issues concerning aging, retirement, long-term care and the mature market. The Institute, staffed by gerontologists, provides training and education, consultation and information to support MetLife, its corporate customers and business partners.

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), is a leading provider of insurance and other financial services to individual and group customers. The MetLife companies serve approximately nine million individual households in the U.S. and companies and institutions with 33 million employees and members. MetLife also has international insurance operations in 12 countries. For more information about MetLife, please visit the company's Web site at www.metlife.com.

The National Alliance for Caregiving is a nonprofit coalition of 25 national organizations that have come together around the issues of family caregiving. The alliance conducts research, develops national programs to support family caregivers and the professionals who work with them, and works to increase public awareness of caregiver needs and concerns.

LifePlans, Inc. is a long-term care insurance service, risk management and research company. The company conducts research for the Federal government, Foundations, and trade associations on issues related to private and public initiatives in long-term care financing for the elderly and disabled. The company has recently completed the third national study of individual purchasers and non-purchasers of long-term care insurance and completed the first industry-wide study of long-term care insurance claimants, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Editor's Note: Study available upon request.