Millions of people who face providing unpaid care for an elderly parent in the future fear they won’t have enough money to do so, a charity has said.
Age UK polled adults aged 40 to 60 who are considering becoming unpaid carers and found that 61% believe they will struggle to manage financially.
Three-quarters of the respondents also said they were worried about the stress of providing care for an ageing parent, with 69% saying it would be difficult to balance with other responsibilities including childcare and work.
The figures give an insight into the anxieties and challenges people face when it comes to providing unpaid support – from help with shopping and personal care to hospital visits and household chores.
Longer life expectancy, the cost of living crisis and strain on the health and social care system mean responsibility for supporting ageing parents is increasingly falling to adult children.
Age UK’s research, based on a survey of 2,386 people which was scaled in line with national population figures, suggests 3.3 million people aged 40 to 60 currently provide care or support for a parent in the UK, with an estimated 8.3 million considering doing so in future.
The total value of unpaid care in England and Wales is now estimated to be £162bn a year – up by nearly a third since 2011, according to analysis by the University of Sheffield.
Those living in deprived areas are most likely to find themselves providing unpaid care, 2021 census data shows. The results of the new Age UK poll also suggest that many people do not feel properly equipped to provide unpaid care.
More than a quarter of those who said they were considering providing care in the future said they wouldn’t know what to do if their parent had a fall, while 35% said they wouldn’t know what to do if their parent was isolated or lonely.
Of those who already provide care to a parent, 60% said they had not known how hard it was going to be.
One survey respondent who provides care for her mother, who has dementia and is in her 80s, said she tried to visit regularly to do housework and take her mother to medical appointments but found it “really hard” around a full-time job. “You’re not taught how to look after a parent as they get older,” she said.
Caroline Abrahams, director of Age UK, said the data showed that more support was needed for unpaid carers, who often face a range of challenges including learning how to navigate the “complex health and care system”.
The charity has launched an awareness campaign, Know What To Do, and runs a helpline providing advice on issues including finding and accessing social care.
