The Cost of Caring: Out‐Of‐Pocket Expenditures and Financial Hardship Among Canadian Carers

Abstract

At some point in their lives, nearly half of Canadians aged 15 and older have been caregivers or carers to family members or friends with long-term health, disability or aging-related needs. Many of these carers spend money out-of-pocket on the care-related needs of their family member or friend, and this spending may expose carers to a higher risk of financial hardship. Although the literature on care-related out-of-pocket expenditures (OPE) is growing, we know little about the relationship between financial hardship and OPE, and the changes in financial behaviour that result. Using data from a nationally representative sample of family carers age 45 drawn from Statistics Canada’s 2012 General Social Survey on Caregiving and Care Receiving, we explore the relationship between care-related OPE and financial hardship and the financial behaviors, such as modifying spending, deferred savings, and borrowing, used by carers who report financial hardship. The results from multivariate logistic regression analyses exploring risk factors for financial hardship suggest personal financial planning strategies and public policies to minimize the risk of incurring financial hardship due to care-related OPE.