Joseph quit his full-time job to provide full-time care for his wife, Stephanie, who is suffering from early-onset dementia. He bathes and dresses her, prepares her meals, takes her blood pressure, gives her prescribed medications twice a day, and takes her to all of her medical appointments.

Joseph had to quit his job to fulfill his family obligations, giving up a good salary. Although he was not ready mentally to retire, and it was difficult giving up his large paycheck, his pension plan and Social Security benefits (which he had to take earlier than he planned to, thus resulting in him receiving a lower amount each month), provide them with just enough money to make ends meet each month. Joseph sees caring for his wife as a labor of love. And that’s the way most federal and state programs see caring for a spouse . . . as a labor of love, and as a spousal obligation.

The reality is that most spouses providing care are already retired and receiving Social Security and perhaps another form of pension income, and don’t need to be paid for for filling their spousal obligation.

But with spousal caregivers such as Joseph, who are saving insurance companies and government agencies billions of dollars by providing care, shouldn’t there be a way to get paid something?

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