If your aging loved ones in Palm Beach are like most, they want to remain in their current homes for as long as possible. And although that’s an admirable goal, over two-thirds of aging-in-place seniors eventually require elderly care to remain independent.

When that time comes, families face hard decisions regarding where that care will take place. If you’re still “on the fence” as a family caregiver, read on to learn why professional senior home care is the right choice when your loved ones’ health and well-being weigh in the balance.

How Aging at Home Benefits Seniors in Palm Beach

Seniors who receive home care often reap these advantages as a result:

Familiarity and Comfort

One of the primary advantages of aging at home is the familiarity and comfort that come with living in a familiar environment. Because most seniors spend years or even decades in their homes, the familiar surroundings often provide a sense of security and comfort that’s hard to duplicate in a new and unfamiliar setting.

Independence

Aging at home can help seniors maintain a greater degree of independence they might not otherwise have in an assisted living facility or nursing home. While receiving home care, elderly adults can continue to manage their daily routines and make their own decisions about how they want to spend their time, minus the constraints that come with living in a communal environment.

Personalized Care

Home care also empowers seniors by providing them with personalized care and one-on-one attention. Seniors and their families can work closely with caregivers to develop a care plan specific to their needs, rather than having to conform to the routines and schedules of an elder care facility.

Cost Savings

Paying for any type of long-term elder care takes creativity. Although it may require costs associated with home modifications in addition to professional caregiving services, the overall costs of home care may be lower than those of an assisted living facility.

Support Network

When seniors age at home, they can continue to rely on the support of family, friends, and neighbors. While serving on your loved one’s caregiving team, these familiar faces can offer emotional support, companionship, and daily living assistance.

Quality of Life

Research indicates that seniors who age in place often report a higher quality of life than those who move into assisted living facilities and nursing homes. This phenomenon is likely due to the sense of independence, familiarity, and comfort that can only come while living in one’s own home.

Adaptable Environment

Unlike other senior living options, you can complete home modifications that make your loved ones’ environment safer and more accessible by updating the bathroom or installing grab bars, ramps, or stairlifts. Seniors can also personalize their living space to their liking, which may improve their emotional well-being and mental health.

Lower Risk of Infection

Communal elder care environments can be breeding grounds for illnesses and infections. Seniors who age at home can reduce their exposure to germs, something that’s notably important during flu season or a pandemic like COVID.

Diet and Nutrition

For one reason or another, many seniors don’t eat as they should. Aging in place will also allow your loved ones to maintain better control over their diet and nutrition. They can continue to prepare their own meals or work with a professional caregiver to create a healthy meal plan that meets their dietary needs and preferences.

Socialization

Socialization is essential for people of all ages, including seniors. While aging at home, your loved ones can maintain an active social life by participating in local events and activities, visiting friends and family, or connecting with others in their community.

How to Choose the Best Home Care Agency in Palm Beach, FL

Once you’ve decided to start professional in-home care, here’s how to hire the best provider for your aging loved ones:

Reputation

Do your research by seeking referrals from friends, family, and healthcare providers. Look for providers that are licensed and accredited, and check their Google reviews, client testimonials, and ratings with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Services

Some home care providers only offer basic personal care, meal preparation, and light housekeeping services, while others provide more specialized care, such as physical therapy or Alzheimer’s and dementia care. A reliable way to narrow your search is to consider the services your loved ones need and find an agency that provides them.

Caregiver Qualifications

Determine if the agency hires caregivers who are qualified and experienced. Ask them about their hiring and training practices and what kind of background checks they perform. And finally, ensure the agency has a system for matching caregivers with clients based on their needs and personalities.

Flexibility

Look for a flexible provider that can accommodate your loved ones’ changing needs. For instance, if your loved one needs more care during an illness or after a hospital stay, a reputable agency should be able to adjust their services accordingly.

Communication

Choose an agency that values communication and keeps you informed about your loved ones’ care. Ask how they communicate with clients and caregivers, and how often they provide updates. Be sure the provider also has a system for addressing concerns or complaints.

24/7 Availability

Find out if the agency offers around-the-clock care, and whether they have caregivers and supervisors available on weekends and holidays. While you’re at it, ask them what their policy is for handling emergencies and last-minute requests.

Cost

It’s also key to find an agency that offers affordable rates. Ask for a detailed breakdown of their fees and charges, and also be sure you understand their billing policies. In addition to private pay, do they accept payment methods like Medicaid, VA benefits, or long-term care insurance?

Quality of Care

Arguably the most crucial factor when choosing a senior home care agency, quality of care matters. Choose a provider committed to providing compassionate, personalized care that seamlessly aligns with your loved ones’ needs.

Family Trusted In-Home Care for Seniors in Palm Beach

When you need home care, look no further than Health at Home in Palm Beach. We are a fully licensed and insured provider with highly trained professionals who are experts at delivering the nurturing your loved one deserves. While serving as an extended family in your senior’s home, our compassionate caregivers can perform various duties, including personal care, respite care, private duty care, 24-hour care, Alzheimer’s and dementia care, and more.

While assisting clients in Boynton Beach, Broward, Indian River, Martin, and St. Lucie, our agency’s focus is maintaining your loved one’s quality of life, along with their dignity, self-esteem, and independence. For your added convenience, all our in-home services can be individually personalized into an affordable package when and where you need them! Please visit healthathome.care online now to learn more about us or schedule a FREE initial consultation for a senior in our service area.

Given the choice, most independent seniors in Palm Beach would prefer to remain at home for as long as possible. And although that’s an admirable goal, roughly two-thirds of all aging adults eventually need caregiving assistance to maintain their independence. When that time comes, families must make difficult decisions about their loved one’s care, including whether to hire a professional caregiver directly or go through an agency. What follows are some things you’ll need to know before making your decision.

Key Considerations When Hiring Independent Caregivers

Families often believe they will save money by hiring a caregiver directly versus working with an agency. While they may be quite capable of caring for your loved one, be sure to consider these factors first:

IRS rules for household employers

For federal tax purposes, someone is classified as your household employee if you dictate what work they perform in the home environment, and how that work is done. An independent caregiver is technically your household employee if they receive instructions on how to care for your loved one from you or another family member and you provide the equipment and supplies they need.

Conversely, self-employed individuals like independent contractors decide how they perform their work and furnish their own supplies and equipment. That said, most private-duty caregivers are not independent contractors. Be sure you understand the difference.

Employment eligibility verification requirements

Once you’ve determined that your private caregiver will be classified as a household employee, the next step is to verify they can legally work in the United States. That will require the two of you to fill out IRS Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) and produce documentation that proves their eligibility to work in the US.

Although the completed I-9 Form does not have to be formally filed with any US government agency, you, as their employer, must keep a copy for your records. You’ll also need to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) and document your household employee’s Social Security number.

Tax obligations of a household employer

The federal and state tax amount that you must contribute for an independent caregiver who is a household employee will vary depending on which state you live in and how much you pay for their services.

For example, in California, a household employer is defined by the state’s Employment Development Department (EDD) as anyone “who has paid $750 or more in cash wages (checks and cash) to one or more household workers in a calendar quarter.” If you are paying a private caregiver $15 to $20 an hour, hitting that threshold won’t take long.

Once that threshold is met, by law you must withhold State Disability Insurance (SDI) from the wages paid out and remit the withheld money to the EDD. If you pay more than $1,000 in wages during a calendar quarter, you must also remit Unemployment Insurance and Employment Training Tax payments to the EDD.

With all these requirements, it’s vital to maintain detailed records related to your employee’s wages and taxes. Employment tax records must also be kept for at least four years after whichever is later, the due date of the tax return or the date when the taxes were paid.

Each time you pay the caregiver, be sure to record the date of the payment and itemize the following:

• Employee’s cash and non-cash wages
• Federal income tax withheld
• State employment tax withheld
• Social Security tax withheld or paid for your employee
• Medicare tax withheld or paid for your employee

Advantages of Using a Home Care Agency in Palm Beach, Fl

Most home care agencies hire caregivers as employees, while others arrange for the services of home care workers on an independent contractor basis – also known as 1099. Known as “registries,” their caregivers are not employees but rather employed directly by the clients. If you hire a registry that contracts out their work, you’ll be dealing with most of the same issues mentioned above.

These are the benefits of hiring an employee caregiver through a reputable home care agency:

Peace of Mind

A home care agency that employs caregivers is not only bonded and insured, but they also cover their employees under worker’s compensation. Independent (direct hire) caregivers not employed by an agency do not carry liability insurance or worker’s compensation. If an accident or other incident occurs on the job, you would likely be responsible, which could cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

An agency will also screen its employees during the recruiting and hiring process, including a thorough criminal background check and drug test. That saves you the time and expense of doing so.

Supervision

This key aspect is not included in the average registry provider’s business model. If the caregiver is not performing up to your expectations, for instance, they repeatedly arrive late or miss shifts, you are on your own and will need to speak to the caregiver directly.

Home care agencies implement disciplinary policies that help their employees improve. Once you voice your concerns to a supervisor, they will speak to the caregiver or, if you prefer, send you a different caregiver. As opposed to a registry or direct hire, agencies also have backup plans in the event your regular caregiver is unavailable.

Training

Because there is no risk of a labor relationship, training is yet another dimension that only reputable home care agencies can deliver. If hiring a caregiver directly, the client must assess the quality and skill of the caregiver. This becomes even more essential if they require hands-on personal care or have limited mobility, dementia, or Alzheimer’s.

A trusted home care agency routinely trains and tests its caregivers, giving you one less thing to worry about!

Overall Value

Although hiring an independent contractor will cost less per hour, saving money should not be primary determinant when your or your loved one’s care weighs in the balance. Agency advantages such as experience, training, supervision, and peace of mind usually result in better caregiving outcomes and more satisfied clients that you cannot put a price tag on.

Final Thoughts

Most seniors aren’t interested in becoming an employer, filing payroll taxes, or obtaining worker’s compensation and liability insurance. When having “the talk” about home care with your senior, please remember they are trying to make their life easier, not harder.

Your Family-Trusted Home Care Source in Palm Beach County

When you need caregiving assistance, contact Health at Home in Palm Beach, Fl. While proudly serving families in Broward, Martin, St. Lucie & Indian River Counties, we are a licensed, bonded, and insured home care provider with highly trained professionals who are experts at delivering the nurturing our clients’ need. As an extended family in your senior’s home, our compassionate caregivers can perform duties like light housekeeping, personal care, dementia care, companionship care, medication reminders, and even live-in and 24-hour care.

Our agency’s focus is maintaining your loved one’s quality of life, as well as their dignity, self-esteem, and independence. For your added convenience, all our in-home services can be individually personalized into an affordable package when and where you need them! Please visit us at healthathome.care now to learn more about us or to schedule a FREE initial consultation for a senior in our service area.

Being your own boss sounds great in any profession, including senior home care. Due to the growing demand for professional in-home caregivers, most have the option of being self-employed or working for a home care agency. If you live in Palm Beach County and currently find yourself in this position, there are pros and cons of each. Should you work for an agency or work for yourself? Read on to learn more about how to answer that life-changing question.

Working for Yourself as a Senior In-Home Caregiver

For reasons that include the potential to earn more money, be your own boss, and create your own schedule, working for yourself can be tempting. But there are also pitfalls to working as an independent caregiver; ones you need to be made aware of.

For starters, professional in-home caregiving comes with high risk. After all, another human being’s health and even life are in your hands. You may also find yourself working one-on-one with clients in their private residences with no one else around. When self-employed, it’s your responsibility to obtain sufficient liability coverage and ensure you are working with trustworthy individuals.

If you wish to obtain additional training or certifications to specialize in an area such as Alzheimer’s or dementia care, you’ll need to do that on your own too. Notably, if you are new to a community like Palm beach, you’ll also have to market your services until you can get enough clients to pay the bills.

Then, and perhaps most importantly, there are the federal income tax implications. While it may seem logical for you as an independent contractor to file your taxes using Form 1099, the IRS may have other ideas. In Publication 926, the IRS clearly states that domestic workers (those who work in a family’s home) are considered to be household employees (W-2) and not independent contractors (1099).

Which filing option should I use?

The main difference between employees and independent contractors is the tax forms they must file. As a household employee, you are required to file your personal income tax return using a W-2 form, which shows the wages you earned and the taxes your employer – or employers –withheld from you throughout the year.

Your employer, in this case, your caregiving client, should provide a W-2 form by the end of January following the year in which you worked for them. Conversely, independent contractors file Form 1099 themselves to report payments they’ve received throughout the year and taxes they’ve paid to the IRS.

How can I tell if I’m a household employee or an independent contractor?

In addition to income tax reporting, the IRS says that the distinction between an employee and an independent contractor relies on which party controls the working relationship. If the client dictates employment details, such as the days and hours you work or specific procedures you must follow, they are a household employer, and you are their employee (W-2).

Someone who is a rightful independent contractor notifies the client when they are available to work and arrive when it is convenient for them. That caregiver would perform their job on their terms and may have several other clients they are working with simultaneously. They would also be able to find other caregivers to relieve them when unable to work, which employees are rarely allowed to do.

What if I misclassify myself as an independent contractor?

When filing Form 1099, and because you are self-employed, you are required to pay twice as much (15.3% vs. 7.65%) in Social Security and Medicare taxes as would an actual employee. If misclassified as an independent contractor, you also won’t be eligible for unemployment benefits if you lose your job through no fault of your own.

Why? Because the client/family is not paying unemployment insurance taxes to the state like they would be if you were a household employee. When you file for benefits, the state will have no record of the client being an employer and will deny your claim until the client pays all back taxes due. Worse yet, you and the client could be audited and required to pay additional back taxes and fines.

Bottom line: According to the IRS, most professional caregivers hired directly by an individual are not independent contractors but rather household employees.

How does my IRS classification affect my clients?

Working for yourself can also be stressful for your clients. Because they are trying to make life easier and not harder, most seniors aren’t interested in becoming an employer, processing payroll, filing payroll taxes, and getting worker’s compensation and liability insurance.

The Benefits of Working for a Home Care Agency in Palm Beach

While working for an agency as a W-2 employee, they will handle the payroll obligations for you. In addition to reducing your risk of getting audited, these are other pros of working for a reputable home care agency:

Job Security

Most agencies are busy and constantly in need of caregivers, which means steady hours and reliable income for you. If your client no longer needs in-home caregiving, your employer will find you a new client. Not having to continuously market yourself and find new clients also means steady pay and more time for yourself.

Vetted Clients

One of the main advantages of working for a home care agency as a caregiver is that they assess and screen clients before you’re brought in. This fact can be a real time saver and safety enhancer if the potential client isn’t serious or seems difficult or unsafe to work with. Most agencies make every effort to match caregivers with compatible clients and families.

Team Camaraderie

Working solo while caring for elderly and disabled individuals can be emotionally draining. Even if you spend most days working one-on-one with clients, being part of an agency means working with a team of care managers, schedulers, trainers, and office staff that support you in your job and value a healthy work-life balance.

Less Stress

If you’re with an agency, you’ll spend most of your time caregiving rather than managing business operations. Your employer will handle most administrative tasks, including scheduling, billing, finding a backup if you need to call out, client follow-up, and marketing. Professional caregivers who work for themselves must find time for all these other duties.

Employee Benefits

Independent caregivers miss out on numerous money-saving employee perks, such as paid training, pay increases, health insurance including vision and dental, paid time off, paid holidays, incentive programs, bonuses, referral fees, and backup care providers. As an agency employee, you can take advantage of these benefits.

Take the Hassle Out of Caregiving by Working for Us

Are you tired of working for yourself or otherwise prefer not to? If so, Health at Home invites you to join our winning team in Palm Beach County. Due to our expanding client load, we are currently seeking qualified individuals to fill several exciting caregiving positions. While proudly serving communities in Boynton Beach, Broward, Indian River. Martin, St. Lucie, we support clients and their families with services that include Personal Care, Respite Care, Private Duty Care, 24-Hour Care, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care, and more.

As a highly valued member of the Health at Home team, you’ll enjoy a fast-paced, positive work environment where your input is valued and hard work rewarded. We also offer competitive pay, flexible scheduling, ongoing staff training, and employee benefits galore. No matter your experience level or education, we’d love to hear from you! To learn more about our agency and our open positions, please visit us today at healthathome.care.