Tag Archives for LGBTQ

America runs on grandparents. Over $900 billion/year in childcare, financial assistance

Published in RINewsToday on July 13, 2026

For many families, grandparents are essential and actively shape how their grandchildren are raised. They quickly step in at a moment’s notice when a child is sick, and pick up grandkids at school when they’re dismissed early. Beyond babysitting and covering unexpected household expenses, they provide a steady presence that keeps families grounded and together.

A newly released AARP Research report examines a universal rite of passage for most older adults: becoming a grandparent. The 23-page report puts a dollar value on a grandparent’s informal support, estimating that, nationwide, they contribute more than $900 billion annually through unpaid childcare and direct financial assistance. From school tuition to clothing purchases, providing allowances, and their help, parents can continue working, easing financial pressure and strengthening family bonds across generations.

The report estimates that grandparents provide a $731 billion in unpaid child care each year, along with another $172 billion in direct financial assistance. On average, they spend nearly 511 hours a year caring for their grandchildren and contribute about $2,654 annually to help cover everyday expenses, child care, education, and other family needs.

Painting a Picture of America’s Grandparents

The report, “Powering Families: The Essential Role of Grandparents in Care, Connection and Support,” offers a comprehensive look as to how grandparents support their families—and the key role they play in the nation’s economy. The numbers tell only part of the story. Grandparents play an essential role in America’s caregiving network.

“America runs on grandparents. Grandparents are one of the most important—and often overlooked—sources of support for American families,” said Dr. Debra Whitman, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer, when announcing the report’s release in June.

“Through both unpaid caregiving and direct financial assistance, they help parents stay in the workforce, make ends meet, and navigate rising childcare costs. Their contributions strengthen family finances and intergenerational connection, and provide critical support to the broader economy,” Whitman said.

The report estimates that 65 million Americans are actively involved in the lives of their grandchildren. The typical grandparent takes on this role at age 50, is now 68, and has five grandchildren. One in 10 grandparents serves as the primary caregiver for at least one grandchild, assuming legal responsibility for raising them.

The Joys of Being a Grandparent

Most of the respondents report that being a grandparent is a very rewarding experience. Eight-one percent said they feel confident in this role, while 75% feel appreciated. Nearly three-quarters said grandparenting fits in with their lifestyle, and 72% described it as a source of joy.

The two most common reasons grandparents care for their grandchildren are practical and personal: helping parents stay at work (38%) and bonding through spending quality time with their grandchildren and showing their love (35%).

Like many Americans, grandparents express concern about inflation and the resulting rising prices. Nearly half (45%) said the cost of living and its impact on their grandchildren is their biggest worry. Other leading concerns expressed by the respondents include gun violence (30%) and access to quality education (28%).

When asked about the challenges their grandchildren face, grandparents cited most often education and learning (22%), maintaining strong family relationships (21%), and emotional well-being (21%).

This report also reinforces how location can shape today’s grandparenting experience. Half of grandparents have at least one grandchild living nearby them, while 28% said they lived with their children during the past year.

Technology Can Bridge Distances

According to the report, digital technology helps to bring grandparents and their grandchildren together, especially for those who live farther apart. Seventy-six percent of grandparents say texting, social media, video calls, and group chats help them stay connected with their children and grandchildren.

The report also reflects the changing demographic makeup of American families. Nearly one in four grandparents (23%) has a grandchild who is biracial, multiracial, or of a different race or ethnicity. In addition, 9% have grandchildren of a different faith, and 7% have grandchildren who identify as LGBTQ+.

Behind every statistic is a grandparent who rearranges a work schedule, opens a wallet, or changes personal plans to help a son, daughter, or grandchild. Yes, taken together, the findings show that today’s grandparents do much more than spoil their grandchildren. They are caregivers, financial backstops, mentors, for many families, the dependable people who step in whenever they’re needed.

According to the researchers, the report is based on a nationally representative survey of more than 3,300 U.S. grandparents age 35 and older. The study was conducted in late 2025, along with in-depth interviews exploring their experiences.

To read “Powering Families: The Essential Role of Grandparents in Care, Connection and Support,” go to https://datastories.aarp.org/social-leisure/relationships/the-essential-role-of-grandparents/

To read the report’s key findings, go to  Powering Families: The Essential Role of Grandparents in Care, Connection and Support: Key Findings

Go to 2018 Grandparents Today National Survey to read the findings, go to 2018 Grandparents Today National Survey

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To read more articles by Herb Weiss, go to:  https://2×8.ea2.myftpupload.com/herb-weiss/

New AARP Report Takes a Look at Older LGBTQ+ Issues

Published in RINewsToday on August 26, 2024

The newly released, annual AARP report, “Dignity 2024: The Experience of LGBTQ+ Older Adults,” shows that four in five (78%) older adults who identify as LGBTQ+ are concerned about having enough support from family and friends as they age. At the same time, the researchers noted that nearly half (45%) are already living with a chronic condition, disability, or both – a figure that will likely increase as they age. The 53-page report examines top concerns of LGBTQ+ adults age 45 and over, from caregiving, to mental health, to finances.

The Dignity survey, first published in 2018 and repeated every year, examines the LGBTQ+ communities that have different life experiences than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. Cisgender relates to a person whose gender identify corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth. 

About 7.6 percent of American adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or another non-heterosexual orientation, reports a 2024 Gallup poll.  Four years ago, this percentage was 5.6.

Understanding aging LGBTQ issues

“The unique needs and realities of older LGBTQ+ Americans are still too often overlooked in society,” said Cassandra Cantave Burton, Senior Research Advisor for AARP in an Aug. 12 statement announcing the report’s findings. “AARP’s research has consistently shown that the majority of LGBTQ+ older adults are concerned about having adequate social supports to rely on as they age.”

Three-in-five LGBTQ+ respondents age 45 or older (58%) are a caregiver or have been one in the past, which can add additional challenges to their lives, say researchers, noting that 78% of respondents say they are stressed emotionally due to caregiving responsibilities. The study findings indicate that some feel obligated to care for someone who is not accepting of their identity (14%).  

Almost half of all study’s respondents (45%) expressed they lack companionship, with more (48%) saying they often or sometimes feel isolated from others. LGBTQ+ respondents with a disability say they are also more likely to be extremely or very concerned (51%) about having adequate social support compared to those without a disability (33%).

Most (77%) LGBTQ+ older adults say they have been physically active and health is important. But they face unique challenges when it comes to healthcare.

Sixty one percent of the LGBTQ+ caregivers say they find it difficult to get enough rest or exercise, while 45% find it hard to visit their doctors.  Fifty percent report that they struggle to maintain a healthy diet, while 85% take a prescription medication on a regular basis.

When asked about access to health care, respondents felt that age discrimination (25%), sexual orientation discrimination (21%), or gender identity discrimination (20%) have an effect on health.

Here are few more notable findings gleaned from AARP’s LGBSTQ study. 

When considering future employment prospects among those who are employed, age-based discrimination is feared by nearly half (45%) of LGBTQ+ adults 45-plus.  Almost all respondents (94%) say maintaining financial security is very or extremely important. And between all LGBTQ groups, transgender/nonbinary individuals are least likely to have $75,000 or more (34%) in household income.

The report also offers recommendations to improve outcomes, including increasing access to health care and providing health care providers tools and training for increased awareness of issues related to the LGBTQ+ community.

 LGBTQ Rhode Islanders weigh in

“The report’s findings are heartbreaking and highlight the social and health disparities that for so long have impacted our LGBTQ+ Community,” says Yesenia Rubio, calling for the creation of intentional legislation that would eliminate prejudice and disparities once and for all due to sexual orientation.  “We need to develop more resources within our healthcare system and communities across Rhode Island, said Rubio, Pawtucket City Councilwoman at-large who is the proprietor of Pawtucket-based Notes Coffee Co.

 “The release of this report is a call to action for all of us to ensure that the LGBTQ+ community can age with the dignity, equal care, and community support they deserve,” says Rubio.

“When my wife and I tried to get pregnant with our son Julian, our insurance would not cover our fertility treatment because we were a gay couple and not a heterosexual or “man and woman” couple,” says Rubio. “Where is the equity in that? It violates our civil and constitutional rights. Everyone should have the right to create a family regardless of their sexual orientation,” she adds. 

After reviewing AARP’s study, Deborah DeBare, 63, board member of Pride in Aging – RI (formerly SAGE-RI), questioned the age cutoff for the report. “Although it is great to see people between ages 45 and 60 being included in this study, the experiences  elated to health access, caregiving, social isolation and discrimination are significantly different when looking at elders,” she notes.

“I think that this skews the results. If the survey had been conducted among LGBTQ+ people who are 60 or older, I believe the results would have shown an even more alarming rate of social isolation and difficulties accessing care, feeling safe, and being discriminated against, says DeBare, who serves as Senior Deputy Director at the National Network to End Domestic Violence. 

The high percentage of women identifying as caregivers among the LGBTQ+ population is not surprising, adds DeBare, noting that women as a whole are disproportionately relied on for caregiving (with parents, children, adult children with special needs, with partners, and within social networks). “It would have been interesting to compare the rates reported in this survey with rates among the heterosexual population of women,” she says. 

According to DeBare, the AARP report does not dive deep enough into questions about abuse, exploitation or discrimination. “These are serious risks for LGBTQ+ elders. When they move into nursing homes or assisted living spaces, or participate in senior center activities/spaces, they are not able to “screen” the environments to ensure that the staff or fellow residents/participants are going to treat them with dignity and respect,” she warns.

“After having been “out” for many years or decades, it is an emotional burden for LGBTQ+ elders to have to approach their lives in the cloak of “the closet” to assess the safety of their new environment, says DeBare. “There are way too many stories of people having been insulted, treated disrespectfully, and discriminated against by caregivers, staff, and fellow residents,” she notes.  

Dignity 2024: The Experience of LGBTQ+ Older Adults was fielded online in April, 2024. A total of 2,212 LGBTQ community members age 45 and over participated, including 1,013 cisgender gay and bisexual+ men, 868 cisgender lesbian and bisexual+ women and an oversample of 331 transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) participants. The study oversampled Asian (106), African American/Black (276), and Hispanic/Latino(a/x) (269) individuals.

Resources

All reports in the Dignity series can be found at   https://www.aarp.org/pri/topics/social-leisure/relationships/lgbtq-dignity-series/?CMP=RDRCT-PRI-HOMFAM

To download a copy of this report, go to  chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/topics/social-leisure/relationships/lgbtq-dignity-series-2024.doi.10.26419-2fres.00805.001.pdf.

For AARP’s LGBTQ Community Caregiving Guidelines, go to chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/caregiving/pdf/family-caregiving-guide/lgbtq.pdf?intcmp=AE-HF-VC-LGBT-R2-C3

Find more News, finance, wellness and other topics of interest for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, go to https://www.aarp.org/home-family/voices/lgbtq/?cmp=RDRCT-LGBTQ-03022023