Economic Report President

A 1992 survey found that 15.1 million Americans over the age of 55were providing direct care to sick or disabled family members, friends,or neighbors. Twenty-eight percent of men and 29 percent of womenaged 55 and over were caring for others, as were 22 percent of all personsaged 75 and over. The typical amount of caregiving was 5 hoursper week, but 2.4 million caregivers spent 18 or more hours per week.And although the proportions of men and women who were caregiverswere close to equal, the total number of female caregivers was greaterbecause women outnumber men in the older population.Grandparents, and even great-grandparents, are important sourcesof assistance to families. In some households children reside with agrandparent; in others one or more grandparents assist parents withcaregiving in various ways. According to the 1992 survey, 14.2 millionAmericans over the age of 55 helped take care of their grandchildren orgreat-grandchildren.The Bureau of the Census reports that in 1997, 3.9 million children,or 5.5 percent of all children, lived in a household maintained by agrandparent—a 76 percent increase since 1970. There were substantialincreases in the number of households maintained by grandparents,with or without a parent present. Among children living in householdsmaintained by grandparents, the greatest increases since 1970 were inhouseholds where one parent also resided. More recently, the numberof grandchildren living with their grandparents without any parentspresent has increased most rapidly.This increase in grandparents’ assistance with the care of theirgrandchildren parallels the increase in single-parent families, but itmay also be due in part to the increased financial pressures faced byyoung married couples, who struggle to meet the demands of careerswhile raising children. Grandparents also step in when parents cannotfunction adequately because of drug use, mental or physical illness, orincarceration, or when parents abuse or neglect their children.THE ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF THE ELDERLYBy almost any measure, the economic well-being of the elderly hasimproved tremendously over the past three decades. Income is themost widely used measure, but it is only a starting point, because ithas several weaknesses as a measure of well-being. First, people aremost concerned about the goods and services that income can buy—about consumption, in other words—not income per se. People savein some periods to finance their consumption in later periods. As aresult, income may be higher or lower in one year than another eventhough consumption is similar in both years. This logic suggeststhat it is important to consider the consumption of the elderly, whichis examined below. A second weakness of income as a measure of152