News stats reinforce need for the nation to wake-up to carers needs. Teenage girls can expect to provide over nine years unpaid care through their lives for disabled, ill, or older loved ones, new figures reveal.
And while the statistics, published during Carers Week, show the call to provide unpaid care will fall less heavily on teenage boys, they will still provide just over seven years.
Carers UK says the figures should be seen as a wake-up call that our ageing population will mean caring will affect us all.
Heléna Herklots, Chief Executive of Carers UK, said:
"Our ageing population means that future generations will see caring for loved ones have an even greater impact on their lives. Today's teenagers will face almost a decade of caring throughout their lives.
These figures should be a wake-up call – showing that our ageing population means we will all care at some point in our lives. But currently families are not getting enough support to care for older parents or ill relatives - too many are forced to give up work, risking financial hardship and exhaustion as they care without the help they need."
Caring responsibilities for older or disabled loved ones are most likely to happen during our 50s and 60s, and the charity says that the figures show we will all now spend a significant proportion of our lives and retirement caring for older parents or ill partners.
According to the new ONS figures on 'unpaid care expectancies', women aged 50 can expect to provide almost six years of the rest of their lives caring, and men just under five years.
Ms Herklots added:
"This radical shift in family life necessitates a shift in the support provided by care services and workplaces. Just as the last generation fought for a step-change in how young parents are supported with childcare – we must now see a shift in how employers and social care services support families to combine caring for older or disabled loved ones."
Carers UK has called for a new settlement for social care funding over concerns that the number of older and disabled people receiving care is falling at a time of rising demand.
Alongside urging employers to provide additional flexibility for the 1 in 9 workers combining work and caring responsibilities, the charity has also called for a new right to 5-10 days of paid 'care leave' to care for older or disabled loved ones.
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