I have cared for my aging mother for 4 years. She has a caregiver that comes in 6 hours per day while I am at work. Would I qualify for payment for her care?
She is now 94. If I stayed home with her, would I qualify for payment for her care? I am not old enough to retire.
The most common question in the AgingCare Caregiver Forum is “How can I get paid to care for a family member?”
The vast majority of family caregivers do not get paid for the provision of care. However, a loved one may use out-of-pocket retirement savings for this purpose. If a family member has enough funds to pay you privately from their savings, it is important to complete a formal personal care agreement. Prior to receiving any payment, this document should be prepared to outline the services to be provided as well as the payment to be received. A personal care agreement cannot be created for retroactive payment for past care.
The Caregiver Forum is a great place to come for answers. Additionally, I’d like to offer the following AgingCare articles as reference points.
It is important to note that most outside sources of pay will only cover medically necessary home health care provided by an authorized agency. For a general overview regarding paying for care, please refer to: https://www.agingcare.com/articles/paying-for-home-care-155405.htm
If you are new to caregiving, you will likely have future questions. There are many answers from experienced caregivers here. Don’t hesitate to come back and ask.
If you are already caring for mom the rest of the hours of the day, I guess you are aware of what that involves.
Who is paying for the 6 hours a day now? Would it be satisfactory to you to get the same pay and benefits that that person is getting now? Would you be saving anything in transportation, wardrobe, and lunch costs by switching to caregiving at home? Is your current job stressful or unsatisfactory in other ways?
It would be important that the work you would do as a paid caregiver would count toward your social security working history. Other benefits such as paid sick days or vacation may not be as easy to arrange.
What is behind your question? Why are you considering doing this?
Frequent Flyer brings up great points. You'd be sacrificing your pay, benefits and future social security benefits by quitting work.
Also, there is not much, if any, social life when you are caring for a dependent senior. MANY adult children who are c/g's are depressed, sad, frustrated and lonely. There are many topics here that spell that out clearly.
Have you ever been a caregiver? How dependent is your mom? You realize that, at one point, you may not be able to take care of her by yourself. She may need to go to a facility. Could you get your job back after being gone a few years?
There is IHSS (In Home Support Services) in California that can pay you minimum wage. You'd need to take a class, get fingerprinted ($36.) and have your mother be able to sign your "timecard" each week.
If your mom only needs 6 hours a day, and can afford it, I'd keep working at my job.
trmyer, the majority of grown children do not get paid for taking care of their parent.... unless the parent can pay from their own retirement fund. If Mom can, then you would need to draw up an employment agreement.
If you quit work, you would lose much more than just your salary. You would lose your health care benefits if the business offers same. Lose money being placed into your Social Security/Medicare. Some places have matching 401(k)'s. Some have profit sharing. You would lose also sick day pay, and vacation pay. The value of these benefits plus the salary would add up greatly over the years. And most of all, being around people you can talk to, which is very important.
Just curious, who is paying for the caregiver that is currently helping your Mom?
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The vast majority of family caregivers do not get paid for the provision of care. However, a loved one may use out-of-pocket retirement savings for this purpose. If a family member has enough funds to pay you privately from their savings, it is important to complete a formal personal care agreement. Prior to receiving any payment, this document should be prepared to outline the services to be provided as well as the payment to be received. A personal care agreement cannot be created for retroactive payment for past care.
The Caregiver Forum is a great place to come for answers. Additionally, I’d like to offer the following AgingCare articles as reference points.
To understand the purpose of a formal agreement between family members and how to create one, please refer to:
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/personal-care-agreements-compensate-family-caregivers-181562.htm
It is important to note that most outside sources of pay will only cover medically necessary home health care provided by an authorized agency. For a general overview regarding paying for care, please refer to:
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/paying-for-home-care-155405.htm
And finally, if you would like further information regarding the decision to hire a home care company that fits your needs and your budget, please refer to:
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/how-to-select-a-home-care-company-230598.htm
If you are new to caregiving, you will likely have future questions. There are many answers from experienced caregivers here. Don’t hesitate to come back and ask.
Who is paying for the 6 hours a day now? Would it be satisfactory to you to get the same pay and benefits that that person is getting now? Would you be saving anything in transportation, wardrobe, and lunch costs by switching to caregiving at home? Is your current job stressful or unsatisfactory in other ways?
It would be important that the work you would do as a paid caregiver would count toward your social security working history. Other benefits such as paid sick days or vacation may not be as easy to arrange.
What is behind your question? Why are you considering doing this?
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Also, there is not much, if any, social life when you are caring for a dependent senior. MANY adult children who are c/g's are depressed, sad, frustrated and lonely. There are many topics here that spell that out clearly.
Have you ever been a caregiver? How dependent is your mom? You realize that, at one point, you may not be able to take care of her by yourself. She may need to go to a facility. Could you get your job back after being gone a few years?
There is IHSS (In Home Support Services) in California that can pay you minimum wage. You'd need to take a class, get fingerprinted ($36.) and have your mother be able to sign your "timecard" each week.
If your mom only needs 6 hours a day, and can afford it, I'd keep working at my job.
If you quit work, you would lose much more than just your salary. You would lose your health care benefits if the business offers same. Lose money being placed into your Social Security/Medicare. Some places have matching 401(k)'s. Some have profit sharing. You would lose also sick day pay, and vacation pay. The value of these benefits plus the salary would add up greatly over the years. And most of all, being around people you can talk to, which is very important.
Just curious, who is paying for the caregiver that is currently helping your Mom?