I am writing in response to a recent article, “Caring for children, aging parents puts squeeze on workers,” which brought to light many of the issues that members of the “Sandwich Generation” face each day.

Today, unpaid caregivers provide the bulk of care for family members, in part because the cost of long-term care remains unaffordable for most middle-income families. In Maine, more than 178,000 residents help their aging parents, spouses and other loved ones stay at home by providing assistance with bathing and dressing, transportation, finances, complex medical tasks like wound care and injections, and more. The annual value of this unpaid care totals approximately $2.2 billion.

The article mentions that women are often the most impacted by caregiver obligations as women are twice as likely as men to serve in this role. Currently, it is estimated that women have 12 fewer years in the paid workforce over their lifetimes due in part to caring for an aging parent. The time out of the workforce not only lowers women’s lifetime earnings and savings, but also lowers their ultimate Social Security and pension benefits.

Nationally, it costs the average woman more than $324,000 in lifetime wages and benefits to care for an aging parent. The subsequent retirement savings loss substantially increases women’s risk of long-term economic insecurity.

In order to successfully address the challenges of family caregivers of both sexes and of the Sandwich Generation, the state must develop methods to enable caregivers to continue to support their loved ones of all ages at home and in the community, and avoid unnecessary costs to the state’s health care system. AARP Maine looks forward to those discussions.

Jane Margesson

AARP Maine communications director

Portland