Why Hillary Clinton’s Caregiver Tax Break Proposal Matters to You
End-of-life issues are sensitive, difficult to talk about and wrought with emotion. For these reasons, the challenges of caring for aging parents and grandparents get far less attention than issues like parental leave, or the soaring costs of child care. But that could change as working families continue to be a focus along the 2016 campaign trail.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton earlier this week proposed a new tax break for those caring for of aging family members. Her plan is a welcome recognition of changing dynamics in today’s modern families and an important step toward giving the role of caregivers its rightful place in the public debate.
In the United States, 13 percent of the population is aged 65 or older, and the number of elderly residents is expected to nearly double by 2050. The Associated Press reports that Clinton’s proposal projects the number of Americans needing long-term care will more than double from 12 million today to 27 million by 2050. But already millions of Americans are struggling with the responsibilities of caring for aging loved ones. About half of Americans in their 40s and 50s are in what we call the Sandwich Generation, providing some level of care for both their children and aging relatives.
To put it another way: Not everyone has kids of their own, but everyone is somebody’s child. This could be a reality for any of us.
While elder care tends to be deeply personal, their impact is far-reaching. Take Alzhiemer’s for example. Roughly 1 in 9 people aged 65 and older are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, one in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, and in 2014 alone, Americans provided nearly 18 billion hours of unpaid care to family members or friends with Alzheimer’s. This cost has been estimated at nearly $218 billion — that’s nearly half of the net value of Wal-Mart’s 2013 sales.
For the estimated 45 million Americans caring for loved ones 50 and older, the tax credits and Social Security benefits outlined in Clinton’s proposal would provide a measure economic security for their valuable contributions to society. According to the AP report, she is seeking a tax credit applying to up to 20 percent of $6,000 in caregiving expenses, providing a maximum tax savings of $1,200. Further, her proposal would provide Social Security benefits to those who leave the workforce to care for family members — a reality for the 70 percent of family caregivers who make career adjustments, like passing up promotions or leaving jobs, in order to fulfill their care responsibilities. This proposal in particular is a huge statement that communicates the economic value unpaid caregivers to our society and the need to ensure their economic security throughout their lives.
We applaud Clinton’s proposal as strong entrance into the public debate, and hope this will push other policymakers and candidates to put forward their own proposals on this important issue. The time has come for us to realize that care is an economic imperative, and we hope the 2016 elections will provide a national stage for these critical conversations.
