EMF22-03: Caregiving Arrangements for Older Adults: The Relationship between Family Characteristics and Public Benefits

Most older adults in the United States will need long-term care before they die, but there is little research on the care arrangements older adults are likely to use. Additionally, while there is some research that suggests Social Security receipt is associated with higher levels of family caregiving, there is limited research that examines how Social Security receipt affects caregiving types used by different kinds of families. This study uses data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), with Social Security data from the Master Beneficiary Record, to investigate how characteristics of adult children and Social Security benefit receipt are associated with caregiving arrangements for older adults. Multinomial logit models are used to compare associations between adult child characteristics, public benefits, and different caregiving types. Results find that there are significant associations between certain child characteristics and caregiving arrangements, as well as significant associations between some interactions of Social Security benefit receipt and child characteristics on caregiving arrangements.