BARP calls for ease for caretakers of the elderly

By Shamar Blunt

President of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) Marilyn Rice-Bowen believes tax breaks for the elderly would go a long way in improving the financial situation for families who often have to use their limited funds to take care of senior relatives.

She shared that view during her association’s virtual discussion on Elderly Abandonment: Causes, Legislation, and Solution which was held earlier in the week.

According to Rice-Bowen, although the incidence of elderly persons being abandoned at healthcare facilities was still concerning, steps to mitigate the root cause of such situations should be taken into consideration, including easing the financial burden of low-income earners who often bore the responsibility of taking care of older persons in the family.

“What I would like to see is some tax relief for persons who take care of elderly persons in their home,” she said.

“It would then encourage those younger people to keep their seniors with them, and then there are benefits there. The state benefits as well because that then is one less person the state would have to look after,” the BARP president added.

Rice-Bowen noted that territories such as Canada have robust tax incentives for their older population, which often results in many of them living comfortably on their own while being financially independent.

“Aging in place gives you the opportunity to stay at home in your familiar surroundings, and in your kitchen gardens, and in your orchids and with your dogs, because once you go into care, out go the dogs and gardens, [so] we want to encourage aging in place. There are seniors who would want to do so, and their health is such that they can age in place,” she said.

“Again, the benefit to the state is that there is less dependence on the state [and] the family unit is strengthened.”

Rice-Bowen also threw out a challenge to the private sector as she called for more senior daycare facilities to keep people active in the latter years.

She said that could prove to be a lucrative investment as many older persons often look for activities to participate in, with more free time on their hands.

“We need to see more senior daycare facilities, and this is where the private sector should come in as well and offer such facilities. We know they can’t be free, but you would be prepared to pay for such a service because, who knows, today I am here, but tomorrow someone may be taking me to a senior facility where I would want to be comfortable,” the BARP president contended. (SB)