Virtual Wellness solutions for aging parents are the newest trend in employee benefits

Liz Miller

Virtual Wellness solutions for aging parents are the newest trend in employee benefits

Employers have a huge opportunity to attract and retain better talent by acknowledging the realities of caregivers and giving them the resources to help manage their responsibilities. Employees are (and should be) at increasing rates looking for employers that recognize their caregiving role and provide them the tools they need.

Caregiving for aging loved ones is a much bigger issue than many people realize. 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. is providing care for another adult. A number of working adults, who are older adults themselves, find themselves in caregiving roles as well. Often these people are either caring for aging parents or caring for both aging parents and children at the same time in the sandwich generation.

According to the AARP Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 report, employees of all ages are caring for the adults in their lives:

  • Average age of caregivers: 50.1 years old
  • 44% of caregivers are 18-49 years old
  • 56% of caregivers are 50+ years old

Caregiving benefits, such as resources that help alleviate stress for eldercare, as well as access to free, online classes are the up-and-coming benefits. Before long, considering how fast the population is aging with 1 in 3 people over 50 now and a projection of 1 in 5 over 65 by 2030, this will likely be just as important as a 401k. The pandemic brought the stress of family caregiving to the forefront of everyone’s minds and as employers seek to entice employees back to the office, top of mind for these employees will be family benefits like eldercare. The sandwich generation is the core of the workforce and they are caring for their own growing families while needing to care for aging loved ones at the same time. And, unfortunately, resources have been few and far between.

GetSetUp’s platform which keeps older adults active, engaged and socializing connected with peers based on interest is one such solution addressing this huge need in the market.

“GetSetUp has been an incredible platform for my parents. I could not visit my parents during the pandemic, it is reassuring to know that they have GetSetup which keeps them engaged. I wish more employers would offer the GetSetUp service as an employee benefit. GetSetUp took a lot of stress out of my mind which allowed me to focus better on other things as my parents loved the laughter class, cooking series, and yoga classes,”

said Zainab Ghadiyali,  Former Product & Tech Lead at Facebook and Airbnb.

For many employees, there is a real need for their aging loved ones to know how to get to a doctor or to use technology to stay in contact.

“GetSetUp has provided my mom so much from learning new skills to truly finding a community. She started out like many of our learners that lost a spouse - the transition from a full-time caregiver and grieving, while having to create new accounts, adjust finances, etc. GetSetUp has given her space to come back into her own, to find autonomy (she is on Gmail and Instagram for the first time!) to find enrichment (Donna’s art and music classes, traveling with Russ) and support (Glenda’s meditation and Bern’s wellness classes). She explained to me how being retired for 20 years, she felt technology passed her by, but with GetSetUp, she’s learned how to feel confident and independent. Not having my dad left an immense hole, but with GetSetUp she’s found a way to combat loneliness - and isolation that hit at the heart of the pandemic - and in turn, has made new connections and found her voice. She’s logged over 200 classes and shared GetSetUp with all her cousins and friends, to the point where she walked them through how to create an account!”

said Michelle Paganucci, Partnership, and Community Engagement at GetSetUp and a beneficiary of eldercare employee benefits.

Besides keeping parents engaged in learning new technology to age independently, the 1800+ group-based live classes also help in reducing social isolation.  Learners not only stay physically active taking home-based yoga classes,  chair cardio, etc, but they do it in groups where they get to make new friends both during and after classes.

Employers are taking advantage of caregiving benefits

A number of partnerships have already been formed to allow for employees’ loved ones to access these resources and receive 25% off of GetSetUp’s $19.99/monthly or $179.99 annual membership rates.

Just last week 5 benefits providers partnered with GetSetUp to further support the employees that they serve. They will start to offer these services to their affiliated companies.

With leading benefits providers paying attention to virtual wellness memberships for employees aging loved ones, employers are going to need to increasingly pay attention to the needs of caregivers in order to recruit and retain the best employees. Employees are starting to ask for what they need and understand their options for eldercare support like GetSetUp. To learn more about GetSetUp’s employee benefits please visit https://www.getsetup.care/

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Virtual Wellness solutions for aging parents are the newest trend in employee benefits
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