Image of nurses' hands at computer keyboard

Eldercare benefits are creeping closer to those offered for child care from the nation’s employers, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. About 1 in 4 companies offers basic eldercare provisions to workers, mostly referrals to caregivers or legal services.

About 1 in 11 (9%) offer more, including in-home care and extended leaves for emergencies, according to a survey recently released by the Society for Human Resource Management. The survey estimated about 33% of households will be charged with taking care of an elderly relative by 2020, compared with just 25% today.

Larger employers are most likely to extend such benefits to employees and are “scrambling” to come up with answers, according to the WSJ report. Companies that do offer more options typically do not pass along the cost directly to employees, or they charge a copayment of less than $5 per hour.

The survey said that the nearly 16 million family caregivers who also work full-time each cost their employers more than $2,100 in lost productivity and replacement charges each year.