Every June, the Alzheimer’s Association asks us to go purple. To wear the color, share the hashtags, raise awareness. And that matters. But for benefits brokers and HR professionals, the conversation needs to go deeper than a purple ribbon. June is the right time to have it.
Alzheimer’s is not just a health issue. It’s a workforce issue, a financial planning issue, and increasingly, a benefits strategy issue. The data makes that hard to ignore.
The Numbers Are Staggering
In 2026, an estimated 7.4 million Americans aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease. And the financial weight that comes with it? Health and long-term care costs for people living with dementia are projected to reach $409 billion in 2026 and nearly $1 trillion by 2050. The total lifetime cost of care for a person living with dementia is estimated at $405,262, and family caregivers bear 70% of those costs through unpaid care and out-of-pocket expenses.
Let that sink in for a moment. Most of that burden does not fall on insurance companies or government programs. It falls on families. And those families are sitting in your employees’ homes. Increasingly, those employees are your clients’ workforce.
The lifetime risk for Alzheimer’s at age 45 is 1 in 5 for women and 1 in 10 for men. This is not a distant, retirement-age problem. The planning window opens much earlier than most people think.
It’s Already Inside the Workplace
Here’s where the awareness month conversation connects directly to benefits strategy. Nearly 13 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. A significant share of those caregivers are employed. And when they show up to work, they bring the weight of caregiving with them.
53% of caregivers have missed work due to caregiving challenges, and 48% report decreased productivity. AARP estimates that U.S. businesses lose an estimated $33.6 billion annually due to lost productivity from full-time working caregivers. That is not a rounding error. That is a measurable drag on business performance, and one that most employers have not connected to their benefits offering.
Only 24% of employers recognize that caregiving affects performance. Which means the vast majority are absorbing those costs without understanding where they’re coming from or what to do about them.
This is the gap that brokers are positioned to close.
What Alzheimer’s Awareness Month Is Really Telling Us
The theme for this year’s Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month is “(Re)Think Your Brain.” The 2026 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report found that nearly 9 in 10 Americans say brain health is important, yet only 1 in 10 say they know what to do to maintain it.
That gap between awareness and action sounds familiar, doesn’t it? It mirrors exactly what we see in long-term care planning. People know it matters. They just haven’t connected the dots on what to do about it, or when.
June is when the conversation gets amplified. Employees are reading articles, seeing social posts, maybe even sharing something because a family member is affected. That cultural moment is an opening. Not to sell anything, but to educate. To say: here’s what Alzheimer’s could mean for your family financially, and here’s what your benefits package can actually do to help.
The Role of Hybrid Life with LTC Benefits
Standalone long-term care insurance has become increasingly hard to access and afford. As standalone LTC plans have become increasingly scarce and costly, worksite hybrid life with long-term care insurance has emerged as an attractive alternative. This type of policy serves a dual purpose, ensuring that the death benefit remains intact even if the LTC benefit is utilized, creating a no-loss scenario.
That framing matters for employees who have hesitated because they were afraid of paying premiums for something they might never use. With a hybrid product, the premium is never wasted. If care is never needed, the death benefit remains. If needed for Alzheimer’s or any qualifying condition, the coverage is there.
For employers, offering this type of benefit sends a clear message: we understand that your family’s future matters, not just your performance today.
The Broker Opportunity in June
Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month is one of the most shareable, emotionally resonant awareness moments of the year. Nearly everyone has been touched by this disease in some way: a grandparent, a parent, a neighbor. That shared human experience creates a natural entry point for a conversation that benefits professionals often struggle to initiate.
Use June to reach out to employer clients with education, not a pitch. Share what the data says about Alzheimer’s and LTC costs. Ask whether their current benefits package addresses what happens if an employee or their family member needs long-term care. Open the conversation about hybrid life with LTC as a voluntary benefit option that requires no employer contribution and offers real value to employees at every stage of life.
85% of employees would consider leaving their job for better family care benefits. The employers who get ahead of that are not just doing right by their people. They’re building a more resilient, loyal workforce.
The Bottom Line
Awareness months come and go. But the financial reality of Alzheimer’s and long-term care costs does not. June is a moment to meet people where they already are, already thinking about brain health, already worrying about aging parents, already wondering what happens if the worst comes true.
Brokers who bring a thoughtful, solutions-focused perspective to that moment are not capitalizing on fear. They’re filling a gap that desperately needs to be filled.
That’s what good benefits advising looks like. And that’s what The VB Shop is here to help you do.
Ready to add hybrid life with LTC benefits to your voluntary benefits lineup? Contact The VB Shop to learn how we help brokers confidently bring this conversation to their clients.