A survey conducted by SOMPO Holdings found that approximately 80% of working-age adult children were concerned about caring for their parents, while 70% had not had a specific discussion with their parents about care arrangements.
A survey of 1,048 men and women aged 30 and over nationwide examined the realities of and attitudes toward caring for parents. It found that 78.7% were concerned about future care, while the results showed that 70.0% had not had an opportunity to discuss care arrangements or costs with their parents. Reasons for not initiating the discussion included the parents' good health, uncertainty about how to broach the subject and psychological barriers to discussing money.
Regarding expected care-facility costs, nearly half of respondents said they would be less than ¥5 million, revealing a gap with the approximately ¥24 million actually required to move into a private facility. As for preparing for the costs, only 10.0% expected to be able to cover them with assets alone, while many were postponing preparations and remained concerned.
There are barriers to using public consultation services, including restrictions to weekday daytime hours, while demand for consultations before parents' health deteriorates was high at 70.6%. The findings pointed to the importance of comprehensive care support, including the provision of free consultation services such as ウェルビオ and support services for companies.
Based on the survey, the findings indicated that preparing before parents require care, encouraging dialogue among family members and beginning financial planning early would help prevent people from leaving the workforce to provide care and support secure lives.