Planning for the Costs of Aging & Caregiving - AGIS.com Launches Long Term Care Module

SAN RAMON, CA--(Marketwire - October 22, 2007) - AGIS, the comprehensive eldercare resource, announced today the launch of the Planning for Long Term Care section of its website. The new section is designed to help families anticipate and fund long term care services, the day-to-day assistance required by many people.

Americans often wait until an emergency strikes to learn about long term care and its serious financial implications. With more than 20 percent of American households involved in caregiving, AGIS recognizes the need for a cohesive, accessible financial planning tool that delivers the special care and attention that the situation calls for. The new Planning for Long Term Care module provides an overview of long term care, a calculator to estimate costs, financial planning worksheets, and other tools to help families begin taking action now to ensure that future needs are met.

As life expectancies continue to increase, most people will eventually need long term care, provide it, or both. The costs can add up quickly. At a typical rate of four hours per day, the services of a home health aide currently cost an average of over $36,000 per year. The average cost of a stay at a semi-private nursing facility can cost double that amount or $72,000 per year. Using these numbers, and considering a 3 year care event with an assumed 5% annual inflation rate, the cost for care could be 10 times higher for baby-boomers who begin to need care 30 years from now.

The financial impact of long term care extends well beyond family savings and as a result, many of baby boomers find themselves providing the care for their parents on a weekly or daily basis. Most caregivers must find ways to balance their careers and their children with their family caregiving responsibilities. The demands and distractions of caregiving cost corporate America an estimated $33.6 billion per year in lost productivity.

"Long term care planning is absolutely necessary for everyone and there are many options the sooner you plan," says Kevin Sypniewski, founder and CEO of AGIS. "Aging often brings about very real changes. AGIS provides tools to help current and future caregivers make this life transition more manageable. As these changes occur in each of our families, we want to help Americans embrace the change and maintain the quality of life."

AGIS provides an extensive collection of articles about eldercare, expert caregiving advice, a forum for caregivers, and other resources to help families meet the challenges of aging.

The Long Term Care portion of AGIS is available immediately, http://www.agis.com/long-term-care-planning.

About AGIS (Assist Guide Information Service), Inc.

Based in San Ramon, California, AGIS (AssistGuide Information Services) is the leading online community providing comprehensive information and access to eldercare solutions and services. Since 1998, AGIS (formerly AssistGuide) has been providing technology driven resources for the aging and disability communities. The company helps improve the quality of life for seniors and their families by uniting eldercare education with local, regional and national support services. For more information about AGIS, visit www.agis.com.

Contact Information: AGIS Media Contact: Elina Heng Terpin Communications (310)821-6100 x108