The Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) was conducted for its 36^th year in 2026 to measure attitudes toward, preparations for, and understanding of the various issues surrounding retirement of American workers and retirees. The RCS found that working Americans’ confidence in having enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement dropped in 2026 to its lowest level since 2017. Confidence in other aspects of retirement also declined, as debt and cost-of-living challenges have impacted many Americans.

In this Issue Brief, the retirement prospects, knowledge, preparations for retirement, and experiences in retirement are examined for those who are unpaid caregivers vs. those who do not provide this care. This builds on the 2023 publication that also focused on caregivers in the RCS. Caregivers in this survey are defined as those who provided unpaid care for an adult and/or child within the last 12 months in a noninstitutional setting and helped their care recipient with at least one activity of daily living or instrumental activity of daily living. A description of these caregivers, those to whom they provide the care, and actions they have taken in response to being a caregiver are enumerated before comparing caregivers vs. non-caregivers on many dimensions of financial attitudes, financial activities, and retirement preparations.

Key findings are:

• Caregivers were less likely to say that their health status is excellent or very good, less likely to have a household income of $75,000 or more, and more likely to be female. The share of caregivers who said that their health status is excellent or very good was 36 percent, compared with 45 percent among non-caregivers. Fifty-three percent of caregivers had household incomes of $75,000 or more vs. 62 percent of non-caregivers, while 61 percent of caregivers were female compared with 47 percent of non-caregivers.
• Caregivers were more likely to have lower levels of financial assets and more likely to have a problem with debt than non-caregivers. Thirty-four percent of caregivers had less than $10,000 in savings and investments compared with 25 percent of non-caregivers. At the same time, caregivers were more likely to say that debt is a problem — 69 percent compared with 57 percent among non-caregivers.
• Thirty-four percent of caregiving workers and 20 percent of caregiving retirees reported that they provide financial support to their caregiving recipient. Furthermore, 20 percent of caregiving workers and 15 percent of caregiving retirees had taken on new or additional debt as result of being a caregiver.
• The role and responsibilities of being an unpaid caregiver are more likely to have a negative impact on the caregivers’ mental health than on the performance of specific financial tasks, but a number of financial tasks are still impacted. Among caregiving workers, 64 percent said their mental health is negatively impacted by the caregiving, and 52 percent of caregiving retirees said their mental health is negatively impacted. The most impacted financial tasks among caregiving workers were saving for emergencies (56 percent) and working the hours they want or need to work (54 percent).
• Caregivers in the upper-income group ($75,000 or more) and the lower income group (less than $35,000) were more likely to be not confident in their retirement prospects than non-caregivers, but no difference in this confidence was seen among those in the middle-income group ($35,000–$74,999). Specifically, 32 percent of caregivers with incomes of $75,000 or more and 75 percent of those with incomes of less than $35,000 were not confident that they will have enough money throughout their retirement compared with 23 percent and 55 percent, respectively, of non-caregivers with these incomes.
• Lower- and upper-income caregivers were more likely to be not confident that they are doing a good job preparing financially for retirement than non-caregivers with the same incomes. Caregivers with the same incomes were more likely to be not confident in having enough money to keep up with the cost of living/inflation than their non-caregiving counterparts.
• Caregivers were more likely to express concern over various scenarios that could impact their retirement than non-caregivers. This included such scenarios as the U.S. government making significant changes to the American retirement system, an economic recession, housing costs rising, and having to provide care for a loved one who has a health condition or disability.
• Upper-income caregivers were less likely than non-caregivers with the same incomes to have done various retirement preparation tasks. This included such tasks as having tried to figure out how much money they will need to have saved by the time they retire so that they can live comfortably in retirement, having ever saved for retirement, having planned on how to cover an emergency expense in retirement, and having calculated how much they would need to cover health expenses in retirement. However, caregivers were just as likely as non-caregivers to have done various non-financial preparation tasks for retirement.
• Caregivers and non-caregivers who are offered a retirement savings plan cited the same top four most valuable improvements for the plans. These improvements included investment or insurance options that provide guaranteed lifetime income after you retire, more fund or investment options available/increased choice, better explanations for whether you are on track with your retirement savings, and more investment options designed for after you retire.
• The distributions of the ages at which both caregivers and non-caregivers retired were not different. However, caregiver retirees were more likely to have retired earlier than planned than non-caregiver retirees. Caregivers were more likely to have retired earlier than planned because they had to care for a spouse or another family member than non-caregivers, while non-caregivers were more likely to have retired earlier than planned because they could afford to do so and because they were offered an early retirement package from their employer.
• Caregiving retirees were more likely than non-caregiving retirees to rate their current lifestyle in retirement as fair, while non-caregivers were more likely to rate it as excellent. Furthermore, caregiving retirees were more likely to disagree that their lifestyle in retirement is what they envisioned and more likely to say that various expenses are higher in retirement than what they expected compared with non-caregiving retirees.

Despite caregivers being more likely to be not confident about many aspects of retirement and more likely to be concerned about various scenarios that could impact their finances and retirement than non-caregivers, caregivers were as likely as non-caregivers to have done various non-financial tasks to prepare for retirement. However, they appear to have fallen behind non-caregivers in many financial aspects. Thus, even though caregivers are doing many of the right things in preparing for retirement, they have not been able to strengthen their finances when providing caregiving.

Caregivers face many issues when providing care, including a negative impact on their mental health and being less likely to have confidence in their retirement prospects. Employers have opportunities to differentiate themselves and increase retention and attraction by helping caregivers through recognizing the challenges they face and providing the benefits and/or flexibility caregivers need to remain in the work force and/or be more productive workers. The results from this survey and other research will be part of a caregiving project that will develop, highlight, and disseminate the educational resources that employers would need to help employee caregivers become better prepared for retirement and have improved well-being.

Figure 42 Figure 10 Reasons for Working for Pay After Retiring, Impact of Caregiving on Various Aspects of the Caregivers’ Lives by Caregiver Status Figure 23 Figure 29 F Fiig gu urre e 3 27 6 Fi Fi g gure ure 5, 31,Deb Exp t’s Impact ected Retir on em Aent bility to Age o Save f Wo fo rkers r Re, b tiry Car ement egi /Live Comfor ver Status ................................ tably in Retirement, by ................................ 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Any v me as trie R a ntal ing be had CS as 4 d un d 0 to a le 1n ( ked quest pai s tween fig k) d phys sie than p d ur for ws ex care lan. e the the s o ical $1,0 ut In press ions to a m ho b urv hea 0 (o w Fi 0 e th the add child un ed lth much y de g in ure savings in r an ess tail this 31 d mid money ing s. Al de t)heir . rep dl r t Ho a th so e h n -fi ort ese topics. S wever, e d see th and nances. In they w t ag i a nves are those t e upp uo care e s f 18 be tm ill 2026 er ent nee F - f gi iir nc of av s s R d to cers ,t, the caus om t, careg etirement Co the com h e wer e au ave sav gro pare sof urvey e tivers a hor a up mo d with m s, n r e nf a e e as nd s d di l idence S re more on b ikely ked cal 19 y -hould not care or the ip to exp f erce in me gi l ur tdi ime t ikely vers vey nta vi nt of du e b , ct to n l hey were to have April e als cond n ascribe on do reti 2026 ition more - ever r care not re so t lowe d or , gi k an to lik et now vers r th d ire ely to hat levels the e .or Figure 17 Retirees’ Rating of Th Ja en iru S atra yn 1 d,a 2 r0 d2 o 5f, L biy v iC na gr e in g iR ve et ri r S etm ate un st, by Caregiver Status Agreement with the following spending statements Percentage Who Are Caregivers Household Income enough mon guidance woe uly to kee d be a mos p up W t v h with ic aluab h st ohe co ule rcCar e im s s e o pro t g f iver in of vem fo s livi rment ng/inf ationto a the rlati e uon than sie r retirem d Non fo- rCar re n te iron g ent eive m-e c rn s aregi stavings planvers ninpl g. an thR an etirthe eesir non-caregiver You feel you have enough savings to handle an emergency or sudden large expense equity, • debt, c Non-care ommo giver diti Ho es s w were , o we r real estate ll d mo o yre ou l iukely to hav n; d e opt rsta io nn to sav d the e f in ocom lle on an owin es of g w af or$75, kter pla-c tax b 00 e r0 et or ir asis em mo e through y ntr p e la tn han inve o car s ur workplace reti tm eg eniv t o ers ptio . ns? rement plan; more By Fi Fig gure ure Crai 7, 33g ,W Ret C ho op Are irement elan Careg d, E Agiver e o mpl f s Help Ret oyee irees, ing Be ................................ by nef Caregive it Res r Stat earch, us ................................ ................................ and Lisa Greenw ................................ ................................ ald, Greenwald Res .................... ................... earch 27 11 hig ed hand p of urchas ucatio fi hnancia est le n a in nal re n $7 on gl em 4,99 n a -h eprodu erge ealth ed s C ources o , as 9) n ncy or su -.ct r f op elate Sp i that d that e ecifi pose e W n d guarantees o c ca rtdd ke as d mployers e lly, re to k that they sin nwork 3 lar 2 M ge pe ercent in mo ex woul dg b ic pe r nthly inco a ecause ep d nse of rn ort e eed to c ( C ed are Fi o o g as gi me f wan ure nvers hel tbe i fn 6 or li p i). u ng ting e with inc imploy a n fe to g ff (ected Fi stay tgu o ee c om rP e b ac es of r ar 39 y o tive o care eg v ). i ivers $75,0 d Overa gi e r tryi vin B be 00 lg. e l, ng com or n be oth care a d more e fib t iff s etter er o an ent gi f d vers pre a car 7 t5 perc pa L an eer. e red for r d a s ent non t - ocare etirem f thos givers e ent assoc officers, tr iated fact ust shee ees, ts at or http othe s:// r sp www.ebri.o onsors ofrg/reti EBRI, Employee rement/retirement Benefit R -conf esear idence ch -sur Inst vey itute for -Ed specific ucation a resund R lts from t esear he ch 2026 Fund they can whe s di to Corr of ay that sas retire abi r espond s e lets ity ( to at l they and go ive Fia ingly, gur g c t o f were es 70 have om ein 7 fortably 41 d good ) of . problem or ol C pfercent ere areg de f d in retirem iivi n ra s ancial than retirem w ng of ith non workers d no or -e en care ent retir nt ran bt -car t h pla gi w e e an v er gi ment ge n ers vers e non s that mo f had rom ( pl - al s care 4 ann t l 4 per s lo ikely 20 avin ws giv ing pcent vs ers g contr to p ercent advic s of . With th rov $25 ibut e, and f . 37 or ide ions 0,0 c this pe e ar 0 sfe e 0 than rcent) our gi bu or mor care to vers in rcar de 10 . F ns in eg e urther a Am tvs on iv he low par er . e care 29 ricans smo ent ( Fi pe er re, gi gu or -rc vers , income i rcare re ent e n -gardl 36 , th law, o gi )f . vi ey are c group to ess Sixty ng whi aregi of worker le l pe vers car ess car rce 60 p eg a eg . s nt At ble to ivi ivi w th ercent of ere ng ng e Retirees n=1,045 How confident are they that they will have enough W m he on n e dy id t o y l oiv u e r c eto irm e? fortably throughout their retirement years? Tried ton f= ig 2u ,0r5 e2 o , u Pte h rc oe w ntm ag ue c h S t m ro on ng ely y to hre S y o wi mll e n wh ee ad t i An g r re ee tirement July 22, 2026 • No. 6 How con61 fiden t are they that they (are doing/dF idi)g au gr oe od 2 jo8 b of preparing financially for their retirement? How confident are they in their ability to choose the right retirement products or investments for their situation? n=2,052 As Figu for con re 26 counterp fide E nce quarts ia n lth . V e gov a lue ernment to Th p oro se gr ams Rec that eivare ed mainly Now, for by reti Crees are g —i v Social er SSecurity tatus a and nd Medi Inccar om e e — being able online educational toolCo s an ncd resources erns About S;c e m nore i a Ard io ju ss nv Itm eestmen d p t aa cr tg in eg t Re t o retptio ir tir ee m m ns d ee nn t a t;esigned f g Pe e r sc in ec ne ta J g or a en V u af e arter ry y o 1 ryou re s t S , o 2m 02 e5 wh tire a;t Co fewer investmen ncerned t options Employer offers a retirement savings plan n=570; Percentage Very or Somewhat Well expect and have edwith incom to impr do ov var edious thi e wel s of l-b less ein ngs w th g. an $ ith th 35 e ,0 m00 oney, not were not one confi pred deom nt tinant hat they action. will h ave enough money throughout their survey. Caregivers Non-Caregivers Standard Liv n= in 2g ,0 in 52 Retirement Rating 94% caregivers for s mo s retiree same time, c tat ave for re l non us (EBRI ,ike s -either car wer rly to etire - iERF), eg n e t a imo s ment an regi vers he have a tro o smi ng vers t li r thei in dd ly or so kely djust t he ld are wer er- staffs. ito nc upper ed e mewhat om provide mo mo the e -re l re N income ir gro either targ like ike ag this up we ly to ly to et r r g ee EB ca retirement oup d re of RI have re to a s ay that debt wnor EBRI ith (fere Fret ig t spouse he ur d ire a e a sd ge tat pl 25 - ERF e is Ret an arlier ement to a l ) or . a , W ir lobb com e a pro hil e p at t s, han e artn er a n bl i“You par es or tak =the em 1 p ,0 er ge ed 4 la do not kno l5 . — ikelih nned s with 74 ince 69 es positions ood pfor Jan ercent perce of reaso uary w w doing co nt of ho to 1, o ns out mpared n 2t025 s his calc n pe go on of c , ifi to - with tha care th c p u for eir n lation oli gi g non control 57 c vers ood y p p -icar ercent ncreas ropos . The financi , eg whi ivi l als. amo e ik n c d al g h elih E or w can ng BRI ith ood n=2,052 Wanting to Stay Active and Involved Fing =u 2,0 r5 e 2 5 Less Than $35,000 $35,000–$74,999 $75,000 or More* Percentage Who Have Ever P n=e 2,0 rs 52onally Saved for Retirement, 100% Fi Fig gure ure 34 8, ,Task Shasre of Careg Reti ivers rees Are P Who R erform etired ing for T Earlier Tha heir Care n, La Recipients ter Than, or ................................ When Planned, by Ca ................................ regiver Status ................ ....... 12 28 Figure 15 Figure 40 91% • Caregivers were more likely to be female than n W oo nr- kcar erseg n=ivers 1,007. Your Mental Health Caregivi to continu ng is a e Yto ou r l provide M ong enta -term l He bene alth cofi mm ts21% of itment at leas wit t h e 43% qu lon alg value to t -term i 64% mpacts Ret he ben irees . Care nefi =1,0 tsg 4 r 5 iving eceived workers by retir were ees today more l14% ik , car ely to egivers rep 39% ort in eac that they h 52% available/greater simplicity; assistance in consoliCar dating egiver ot sher retirement sa Nonvings b -Caregive ala rsnces into your current plan; more options n=2,052 10 80 0% % retirement compared with 11% 23 percent and 55 percent, respectively, of non-caregive 11% rs with these incomes. invites com Dme ebnt on t’s Im this rese pact arch. on A bility to Save for Retirement/Live Comfortably in retireme workers non of greatly income b-ein car g hin eg for ( nt pla oFi ive ff de gu bot errred r s nni e h the ( a Fi 32 care n plan gu g li). festy a rgi e dvice vers 4). was le of ” a hig (nd care Figu hnon er rgi efor vers -b 22 ca y) both reg . in C Nia on vers retireme r care e -care g , only gi iv vers gi e nt. vers rtho a S nd s twere e a tin non u ts mo he up - ca are n reg l d pe ik ivers G ely to a r-income en in etrgre he up a t gro i e w ou n pe ith p rs-how income the stat ed g a em differ roup ent , ence that but the tin he li the y kelihood have 2 60% Expected or Current Major and Minor Sources of Income in Retirement, How confident are they that the MedicaCar re se yg siver tem s will continue to Non pr- o Car vide eg b ive en rs efits at least similar to those today? 88% 90% Fi Sgu ee •re Co 40 peland, Craig, Millen 19%nial and an Baby d LisBoom a Greeer nwald, non- “Caregivers a caregivers were nd Fi Reti g mo urremen re e l7 ikely to say t: Findings th Fro ey have m the 2 tr023 Retirement Confidence ied to figure out how muc 20% h Wanting Money to Buy Extras* 100% Introduc that inv are very income est grou or in C sp tio omewhat rypto, were n less Bi l tco ikely con in, fetc. to ident provid ; an abo d e unp nut fu one of the a ture Soc aid care bove. ial in th S ee curity next five yea and Medi rs care compare benefits d wi , th n excep ont -in care the gi middle ver work -incom ers (7 72% e 2 100% EBRI and Greenwald would like to thank the 2026 RCS sponsor Car s w egiver ho shelped shape this year’s survey: The Retir Car em egiver enst, by CarNon eg-iCar ve e 28% r g ive Srt sat 20% 11 us 28% 53% 72% Caregivers Fi Fig gure ure 9, 35,Act Fiv io e ns Taken Most Cite an as a d Rd Retirement: eas Result o ons for f Prov Retiring Earlier iding Car 29% e Findings From the ................................ Than Planned, by Care ................................ giver Status ................................ 2026 ............................ ........ 28 12 FiF giu gru er e 3 9 3 40% was likeli the ri hoo sgh till hig td ed ofhe uc doing ational a r for tnon he ca nd s -care lcul ugi pp ation betw vers ort res thaource n een caregi s care to vers b hel gi yvers p ( C 86 with a and n r pe ercent n maj g =i 2v o ,0 or fi n e 5 vs. - 2rcar nan S 7 eg t4 a cia iv tpe ers u l rce s an , as 6 d nt) h.ealth 0 per Of ev tcent of hos ents e of (73 n fere on p-d erc caaregi p ent lavers n, vs. 68 ov had erpe ei dg rone cent ht in • In the upper-income group, caregivers were more likely to agree that preparing for retirement makes them feel 90% 29% 71% 13% Wh Fao m A ily and re F C rien ar ds* egivers Helping • Caregivers were more l 52% ikely to be employed than non-caregivers, while non-caregivers were more likely to 52% be Survey,” EBRI Issue Brief, no. 586 (Employee Benefit Research Institute, July 13, 2023). Available at 23% 80 70% % money they need or needed to have saved by the time they retire to live comfortably in retirement than their 35% th pe group rce • nt , than vs Low Sa . 42 ve no f er o n pe r E -- care m and rc eent rggi e up n )vers cies . C per ar (eg Fi -incom gu ivin re g sr 1 e care etire 6 an ed s giv were 17). er T s also he per 50% we m reore li centag more ke li e ly to sa c kely to onfiden y that th be t in Yo n th uo rey P e t h confide be will li ysical He nefikely ts ant provide lth ptha rovit they ar de d u either npai d by e d care M oed in in the ig care a 24% Have yo 33% u or did yo 56% u save for retirement; Percentage Yes 11% 39% 50% 87% Despite As The Retir for Am w care erican hen eme C giv rh nt Confide etirees a Co o ers illc eg b A eei e m s of ng mo ctuall o o nce F u nin nanci W y retire Survey t re l h Hike a al etl Servic ly to d, d (RCS) W th iin le dist l be es, S B was con a not A ev ribu merican D i n conf o g tio n du s id n e scte a e W nt Fu o nf d d nd iabout atfor ge h Isn /Cap s iR v at tse e ma w 36 s t ita it ny a hi rm l e c G ym h e ear i rou sn both pe etp n s cts n , Ban t , 2 car of S b 026 a y retir eg k o v C to iv if n a ers measure Am ement a g re s an eg rica, Bri W idv n h e nd mo on attit e r n -S gh c aregi R tud a tre l e Horizons, t es to t u ike ivers r sily to n ward, g retir , be ed were 90% 25% 64% 90% Enjoying Working/Doing Meaningful Work 32% 22% the 10 for care ocalc Sug f thos gi ulation ges vers e in te ) compare the . d Seven Cmi itat dd i io n ld e 10 n: -wit inc Copel of om h 5 bot e 3 perce and gro h car , Cr up eg nt o aig an ivers d ,f and Lisa G ov care an ergi d nin vers non e i. re n 10 -caregivers Benw oth oald f Mill thos , enni “ Care agr e ian ee l gi and the d ve that t rs u Baby pper anheir d R -Boo inco etir employer mer me g ement: non roup i -care Fi s, su n regardless digi pp ng vers ort s Five rom were and of th m 22% e 20 hore elp26 ful 50%Retirement Confiden • s Caregive tressed than rs wh o p nonla -car n to r egive etir re s. or ce S have retir ur edvey were lik ely to say that they expect to have or do have income in Non-Caregiver 47% s 15% 22% 25% 62% 85% https://www.e retired 18% bri. tha org/ n publi caregi cat vers ions/resea . rch-publications/issue-briefs/content/caregivers-and-retirement-findings-from-the- 80% Fi Fi g gure ure 10 36 caregiver ,, Im Perpact of centag cou Car e Deb nterparts ofeg Em t isi n ving pl eg oy a . to iv ed n Variou e Work ly impaer cs tin Aspects s Who Are g their a of bilit t O yhe t ffoered s Car ave a Retire eg foiv r rers etir’e Lives ment Savi m 40% ent/l iv ................................ e cong mfs o rPlan tably a innd the retirem P e............................ nercenta t. ge Who 13 Expected or Current Sources of Income in Rn et =ir 2,0 em 52 ent; Percentage source will b 37% e m61% ajo 29% r or minor 82% 70% The U.S. Government Making Significant Changes to tb hey A m C ea rica re ngiver Status 1 100% At any time in the last 12 months, have you provided 31% nex or Social t five Se g year oo cu d jo srity (4 On b 5 perce libe npre eing Repari so at nt urle ce ng vs as s a . 2 t eq finan nd 4 Re pe ua se cial rc l ato ent rch ly for th Y ). o os u e D ret otoday on Y iro eme udid r Own* nt not reac thaW n n h ho6 o is 0 p n t- hcar e ercent inegiv divid iu n any er al s y owi u inco pth the rovme idedgroup tsame inco he mo.s t carem foes r in. the past CaregCareScout, E ivers dward Jones, Empower, 56% Fidelity Investments, FINRA Foundation, Jackson 34% National, J.P. Morgan 10% concerne prepara not different tions d ab , fout various bu or, and t the u mned de sc ia renarios that s n tandin retirement g of th c a ould e ge var was impact ious 63 iss th for ues eir caregivers sfurroun 12 inances an di vs. ng d ret 62 ret ireme for ireme non nt nt t -o ca f han r Am egivers eric non 44% an wo - car (Fig eg ur rkers ivers e 33 an , care ). d Care retir gigi ve ees. vrs er were 60% 48% 32% 80% Car whe likely caregivi egn iver majo to s ng s have r l tat 8% i fdo e us, eve n ereport a nts retire ha ed ppen, ment n contributi 27% whi eelds e ng m jus calculation t oney to t over four tha he pl inn 10 a the an. n= ir gree 2 ,0 car 52 31% d eg th ivat er count technolo 39% erpart gy an s (d FiAI gurwill h e 26). elp t 27% hem 67% manage their 8% 80% Retireme retireme nt Co nt f nfiro dence m work Surv for eypa ,” y than EBRI Ists heir ue no Brief n-,care no. gi 6ver 61 c (Em ounterp ployee arts Benefit R . esearch Institute, July 22, 2026). unpaid care to an ad Tu alt rg r eet- la Dat tive e F ou r f nr die s ( nT dDF (1s) 8 yeRet arsir o er m ent System* 0%Car 2023 eg- iver retiremen 2 s0% Participat 4% t-co T 4o nf 0 A e % idence vo Wih d Re en A24% m -dsu O 6 u o0 cing u ff rvey % ner t o ed Y. fo m u , b ro S n y 8 a e Care 0 ving y% ho s, ugi s Ye over h uo r1 " ld 0 Nest Sta 0 s% c 42% utus E rrg eg n an "t*ly d h In avecom in sa ev ................................ ings and inv72% estments, not................................ including 34% ...... 29 55% 54% 12 months? Please select one relat74% ionship. Work the Hours You Want or Need 46% Plan to47% retire or have retired n=1,909 60% 52% 9 70 0% % By CraiCaregive g Copelan rs wit dh , E the mpl same oyee incom Bees nef wer it e Res more li earch, kely to and Lisa Greenw be not confi 0% dent inald 2 havin 0%, Green g e4 n0ough %wald money t 60Res % earch o keep 80% up 100% Save for Emergencies 17% 22% 39% 90% The RCS retirees as likely Chase & Co., old e wer f as r)ou t n oe n h od mo n elp -that care t re l h Mercer, e m ike worki gi tvers aly to ke Natio ng c t ao have rhave e Am o 21% 51% fnwi ericans t hret e d d me, ired on selv Princi e ’ eco 33% e v sarious arlier ?nfi pd al ence F t han non inanci 54% 51% i n -pl fi h n a al a ancial nned ving enou Group, (tas 56 p Pks rot gh erc to ectiv mo ent) pre ney to liv e, P pare than ru f n de or on ntial / re e c -caregivers tirement. om P fortably GIM, T. Ho ( th 44 perc R wroughout ever, th owe ent) Pric ey e, a retir as a ppear to nd wement ell as Fi Fig gu ure re 11 16 , Confidence in Having Enough Money to Live Comfortably Throughout Ret 33% irement, by Caregiver Status and the value of your primary residence or defined benefit plan assets? Figure 2 54% Figure 15 64% finances as they age. to Wor k Caregiver; Workers n=701, Retirees n=305 40% Fi gure 27 SA P trone grly A song arl, ee Profession Soa m l e Fwha inant cia A 33% g l rA ed evisor Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree* 70% What are you most likely to do with the money in your retirement savings plan when you retire? 70% 45% 50% 38% 3 34% 35% 62% 75% 50% Caregivers n=1,877Non-Caregivers For children with , t the co his care woul st of livid be be ng/inf Needin lati g yond ev M on on ethan y te oryda M the ake y ch E ir nnon dils M d - car e car et* e, such a egiving s the counterp care provided for chil arts. dren with special needs. The Voya Financ P ial e.r centage of Workers Who A Fig gru ere e T 8hat Preparing for Retirement 78% 60% Those As have falle to have Fi drop g w ure C pe ith doin o o 37 d pyright I ff retire in er ,n bel Incom Ho ed 2g a retir 0d w 26 ow a retir lat e W to n ................................ er tha ell non for i Ret ement ts ement ma - lcar o n pl ire wes ti eg needs ca ment Savi savings o anne in: t le vers T vel d his re in ( since 10 p pl lculatio ma ng an port is c ny financial s ................................ er 2017 w Plan Part cent vs ere n, the . as opyright Retir ke . 5 p lici ikel aspe d whe ees’ pa er iho nts ed cent) cconfidence od ther th ts b Und .y of Thu the ( ................................ e ers Fiey ver gu sEm , ev tan re u h al p nders d en av loyee 34 sCert o d ing though car ). tand Uns ec save ain Inve Bene lin ur e cd d in ertai prising fit Res for r s eg ................................ tm 2 ni02 vers etirement invest ent ly, ear 6.c ch In B are doin Optio areg oth mes ive w nts n titut incr sor r retire , b g availa kers eas e many o y Care (EBRI) e an d es w bl ................. with e d gi i retir f . You ve n ho th ire nc retired er may om es ight e 14 100% • Non-care Car giver egiv se w r nho =1,0 pl 0an 6 to retire or have retired were likely to say that they expect to have or do h 77% ave income 8 80 0% % 71% Workers currently contributing money to employer’s retirement saving 38% s plan, n=482 41% 41% 42% Workers Retirees 44% An Economic Recession Will Impact Your Retirement Plans* 22% 40% 60% 48% 60% <$1,000* T $1,000 aM sk Y a – os $9,999* k u re E Cs m a pr T loye e hg e r$10,000 'i s HR o m ve S rs rt – B A r $2 e e n 4,9 r s ee fits s 9 9 e P Dep d e,r a $25,000 f rb tm o y e r nm C t – a i$4 n rg e 9,9 g 9 fi 9 o vre T r$50,000 h Se ta irt – u C $9 s a 9,9 r ae 9n 9 d R e In $100,000 cc ip oim en e –t $2 s49,999 $246% 50,000+* survey q • ues In tio eac ns a h incom nd criteri e gro a use up, care d to identify givers caregivers were more l align wi ikely to thbe the questi not conf ons use ident that the d in Caregiving in t Social Secur he US ity sy 2025 stem wil to identify l 40% Stat 46% us ................................................................................................................................ Empl 52% oyment 68% Sta ................... tus 30 40% earlier workplac G exp thing from rou iven r • ess s than that in pre ed Caregive gh eY co so ret o ly pl up n rit P aring for anne many rement cerns hree hysical He rs 38% d d in 10 ab wwere on e s retire re o avi a ’t ut th f lth mo ngs kn or m ow ment, ore li re thos e 13% pl l hiikely an w gh cos e ke here sin th . ly to the The ey ha to be to t 40% r of l he g o ave d n ve o f w living an wer ot ma er or r not -e o income ne no etirem be 53% rr diff d ied en sopotential , g b a e elivin ecause t bl rences nt p roup e to g with lanni to changes stren be h ap ng he ey h a partner twee proxi gth ad en n lp to the mat , i care to ttheir i care ely 80 tha s S gi u U.S. r a vers ve fi s n f nan e for ful non ope r a Re e a spouse o ces nd to unders rtirement -cent tir care enon wh megi for those n en prov - tv ca ers sys tand reg 13% r a . tem nother ivers id whic in in . 22% g At the th in h car family e tpe hos u eg pper o sam 35% ivi pl e e member n- g. or e 40% • copy, pr In in reti the int, or rement upp d er ow - fro incom nloa m a defi d e group, this rep ned b ort non e solely nef -car it eg plan five or p rthan sers were ona their c mo l anre are d lno igi kely to say ncom ver co mer unter th cial 23% p aarts t they use, . p rov have ideev d that er pers 56% all h onally s ard coaved pies r 42% aetai ny n 91% Gender 68% 5 30 0% % A Job Opportunity 37% 70% Social Security 7 90 0% % Figure 12, Confidence 8% in Having Enough Money to Tak 66%e Care of Basic Expenses During Retireme 56% nt, by Caregiver Status 49% • Caregivers were more likely to express concern over various scenarios that could impact 46% their 22% A T A G L A N C E 90% 30% 10 5 10 0% 0 un %paid caregiv continue 68%ers. W to hile prov Caregiving in the ide benefits of at USleast 2025 equ also i al valu ncluded pa e to the id fami benef ly caregivers f its rece Par ived by ret ent oor t r In-La he f wiree 64% irst ti s today me, they tha are n n on excl - uded in 50% 50% 30% What extent do they agree or disagree that preparing for retirement makes them feel 44% stressed? 31% time income report group than any an , the th s in Am eir non g grou surv an eric d p ( u al ey also fo - nd ans do us l care Fi co ers gu pyrig gi rtan ever 27 di ht un e ) n cou and ot . as g d that Aof mo nterparts sources the 62% ng many her l those ist a of e pp (d wor Fi info l with in icab ig nure ves kers rmat le not tm 35 an com ion ent ).d ices c retir es in for opti In r co ontai ons e etirement the es haven ntras (ned ther u Fipper t, n gure plan on ’t gro 37 pre -ein, a ca )nin up . Manag pare regi , n 18% g. nd ver d o Care you nor retir -car edidn’ d gi may c eg a ve ee ccounts irs t p vers s ’who re top ite or pare wer sources an ree qu tire f d mo or ret ote d earlier rrirement etirement. of e small p like 76% infly to orm than iort ncom atio hav ions pln anne e e they of d money for retirement than caregivers. 49% 23% Financial Experts or Gurus in the Med W ia hat or ca onr S e i os cial M prov eid dia ed to help the care recipient 35% 32% Figure 38,and Top I Si ncom x Most e ................................ Valuable Improvements ................................ to Retirement Savin ................................ gs Plans, as Ranked by T 44% ................................ hose Offered a P.......... lan, by 14 40% 56% 75% 6 30 0% % 15% 71% retirement than non To He -car lp F egivers inancially S . Thi upps o rinclude t Ot W he orrs* ke dr ss n uch =1,0 s 0cenarios 7 49% as the U.S. government making significant • Caregivers were more likely to say that the 29% ir health status is fair 43% /poor than non-caregivers, while non- 60% this Among study retiree , as nearly all famil s specifically, y Ac Wor caregivers who say aregi kpver laces Re an tird e n me on nt they are p - Scare avinggi s P ver lan s aid also had similar identify a distribu s unpa tions id car of ages i egivers. See n which AARP a they retir nd Na ed tio , but nal Fi gure 41 caregivers Re . tir ement Income Options th Employed* Not Employed Retired* 80% 31% Housing Co Carsts egiv W eilrl; R W ise or*kers n=701, Retirees n= 25% 305 40% use options s were aved for mo for retir were re retir le ik ment mo ely to ement t re pl like have ann F han ca em ly to ing a do le*ne be wer regi M s se o ai vers ale family a d be tca ( hey a 8use 2 p nd re u the ercent frie n y co de nd vs. rs uld af stoo a 77 nd onlin df,pe ord with rce to e nt) ov do reso . In er so s ur e aa ven ces dd nditio , and in be n, 10 caBa use th the rep by c oaregi Boom rting ey w vers tere er hisno , com o wer ff n- ere ce aregi pare more d an vers d with e likely ar 73% ly reti wer jus te o say t over rement more 2 40 0 9% % 0 The Retir % the re eme port Save f nt Confide pro or R vided that etiremnce ent Survey you 22% do so (RCS) verb 30% was con atim and w 53% ducteith pr d for i oper ts M 36 a cnitation. a g yeear i Y 41% 27% ourn Any use Ho 2026 usehoto ld' be measure s F yo ina nd nce the s attit 8% scoud pees to 26% of 27% the ward, for 34% eg oing 20% Child Caregiver Stat 92% us ................................................................................................................................ 65% .... 30 29% 16% 29% 35% 31% changes to the American retirement system, 43% 42% an economic recession, housing costs rising, 16% and having to 5 30 0% % ChatGPT or Other AI Tools 79% 13 00 0% % In All they w iance f this ere Isor C caregivers sue mor B aregiving. rief e like , t we he ly to r Caregiving in the re etire hav likement ly to say e retir 29% pros ed that the earl pe US ct ie 2025 sr, knowle than ir . W heal p ash 38% la th stat dge, nne ingd to prepara us is e n, DC: AARP and less xtions cellen likely ,f or retirem tJu /very to retir ly 24, 202 good. e beca ent, 5 . Ava and use il able at ex they peri coul encd es in affor retirem d to do e nt are so. Figure 28 35% 33% 71% Fi gure 13, Confidence in Doing a Good Job Preparing Financially for Retirement, 15% by Caregive Retiree23% s, r Stat Perceus and Incom ntage Yes e ...... 15 20% package thes s likely ix in e requ 10 sayin to options or have ires EBRI th A eir De ever sav than g th cr em W ’ey unders e so a no p pl r se krior e n oy in e r-s d car ter , hfor P ex e incentiviz e V erpres tgi retirem c a ood tar e lu vers n 35% e t o a sg p f , e Yermis with 4 Y o ge ent ed e us r S t -th a dat tsh vi em ion. 0 an ne gp s O ercent fto tak Ba und For r I by ns ve pe Boom e and ( stm an TDF rmis enearly ret s 37 ts s er )io . care ns, pe rc pgi ent lease ireme vers sa con ying nt —. 78 tact thpey EBRI at ercent use thes com permis e pare options, d wit sions@ h respect 6 eb 4 ri.org perce ively .nt ( (Fi Fig gure ure 50 10% % preparations for, and u Pn ede rsor ns atandin l Retirem g of ent th Saving e var s oious r Inveiss stmues ents surrounding retirement of American workers and retirees. The Non 30-% Caregivers 3 70 0% % 44% 26% 51% 5% 17% 80% 34% 74% 15% Non-Caregivers 41% Fi gu •re 17 Retire 25% d car 16% egivers 25% were more likely to say 32% that they have worked for 29% pay after they retired than 18% their non- 5% provide care for a loved one who has a health condition or disability. 16% Non-Car https:// egiverdoi.o s rg/10.26419/ppi. Yes 00373.001. 9% 90% examin Poss 9ibly ed as f a or 5% r thos esult e , w care ho 17% gi are ving unp retire aid ces areg weivers re mo vs re . l thos ikely e to have who do not Wo worke rk th p er Ho d ova uid rfter t s Y e 79% t ohis care uhey r Want e ortired . Ne Thi ed than s t stu o dy non buil -care ds o gi n vers the 2 . 023 40% Figure 39, Choices on What Will Be Done With Retirement Savings When 6%Retirin Frien g, b d/Ne y Careg ighbor iver Status ..................... 31 20% 25% 15% 70% 28 23 Car Havin ) ). Gr e — g o N iver ce while g on trs o y o - P ca rr o Ot re a vide bout 60 h gi ervers Ca Shro e’p f p p to o61% ing r a erc p Lto w eve nt to t o so d O 23% n urces ewo Wh-o of thi Ha rd inform s a s of He 39% athos lth ation Co e 24% n i th dn ition ey use t91% he othfor r er ge Car eti nee rement grations iver Gr s oce pl , re ry o anni gar r Ot ng dl heess rwer Sh of oe p 73% p f ing care amilgiv y and fri er statend us, sha 15% and d ev a er 13% 84% 25% RCS found that working Americans’ confidence in having enough money to live comfortably throughout retireme 41% nt M 0% anage YourRep Hou re se se hn ota ld'tis F ves F inarn oce ms Your17% Workplace Re 35% tirement P 52% lan Provider 34% 9% 20% 21% 30% 27% 27% 10% 45% 69% 20% Trying a Different Career 20 40% % Figure • 14 Caregive , Confidence rs we ire n Ha mo ving re likely Eno ug to be h Money to K ages 35–44 than eep Up With non-caregivers the Cos 14% t of , w Livin hile g/Inflation, non-car Weg orki b vers y C wer aregi e ver mo Statu re like sly to and be 10% Work for P 2ay* 33% 31% • caregiver Baby 21%Boom cou er nterparts non-careg . ivers were more likely to say that they 43% have ever personally saved any money for 60 7% 0 % 21% or Disability* 27% 36% T Mor pu hos blica eover, e who tion car th we at also foc eg re of ivinfere g retire d use a pl e d san on were care were mo gi alver re so a ls ikely to say isn ked the wRC hat th S. th a Caregive et their y woul overall d rsco in nsider t lifest his surv to yle b ey ar e in th retir e m e dement e os fined t valuab as th is onl le im y os 60% fair e provements who and less provi l de i ke to d ly Repo Car rt e A giver vai s lability: Non Thi-s ca rrep egiver orts* is available Car on egiver the sinternet at Non w-ww.e caregiver bri.org s Car 52% egivers* Non-caregivers 80% 4 Housework 86% Trans 20% portation 19% 41% 81% 30% s profess aved. ional financial ad92% visor. Both caregivers and n 43% on-caregivers had these three options as 35% their top three sources of drop The da pedt i a nwere 2026wei toghted its lowes usint le g the vel since U.S. C 2017 ensus Bure . Conf au id’s en Cce i urren n other t Populatio aspen S ctsurv of retir ey. Se ee ment also Ruggles, de Stev cl14% ined en, S , a ara s h d Fl ebood, t 29% and 10% 27% 19% • • Upp In the er l-oin wer co-me and car upper egive 12% -inc rs om we e re gro less ups, c liaregi kely vers tha n wer noe nmo -car re 13% egiver likely ts o b Swi poe uth the se not /Pa rconfi tn s era 25% de me inco nt that mes the Medicar to have e 20% Figure 40,Incom Expected e ................................ or Current Major an ................................ d Minor Sources of Incom ................................ e in Retireme 17% nt, b ................................ y Caregiver Status ..................... ................. 15 32 ages 75 or older. 73% 10% retirement tha On n liBa ne by andBoom Social M er care edia Po gi sts vers or Co . mmunities 30% 10% 19% 64% 31% Preparing Meals 12% 19% 19% 30% to s unp retireme ay the aid c N nt sav are ir ee ldfo if ed est r an adul ing Byle i en s efits o pls ans. excel t r and R Ca esou lent regi /or rces to tha ch vers ild wi n H e and no lp C tnhi no - ar caregivers n e n the for -care a l Lo asgi ved O t 10% . vers 12 84% ne mo who * nths in are a offn er on ed -institut these io plna ans l s Hou cite ettin se dg wor th an e kd h sam elp e e two d t as th heir car eir e most Regular IRA 11% 74% 15% You Spend Less Than You You Spend Less Than Perhaps 70 0% 6% 0 inf %ormation they use for retirement 14% planning. 14% 11% 50% Ma costthew Sobek t-of-living c, Dan hallen iel ge Backman s have imp , Grace Coo acted many per, Ju Am lierica a A. Ri ns. vera Drew, Stephanie Richards, Renae Rodgers, Jonathan Retire a12% t 4% the Age You Want Retire at the Age You Want 66% 20 0% % 23% 20% 31% 51% 9% 18% 27% Figure Y o 42 s uys A r 8% tem wil e Able to l Sco pen ntinue to dM M ao nn ae gy Ho ed provi Aw cco Yo uu de n ts benefits of at least equal value to the benefits received by retir 67% ees today than 0% done various retirement preparation tasks. This included such tasks as having tried to figure out how In the last 12 months, have you provided unpaid care Non -Caregivers 47% 53% 14% Non-Caregivers 3 65% 13% 21% Transportation Cou 82% ld Because You Would Like You Could Because You Are Caregivers Non-caregivers* Caregivers Non-caregivers Caregiver10% s Non-caregivers* 15 0% % recipient valu Tabl abl e e of C im with prov Aat least o ontents He ement alth Eve s: ne nit nv Ta hest ctiv at W ment opt ity of daily ould Preveio nt ns that Y living ou Fr oor i m provid Wor nst king ru e mental act guaranteed ivity lifetime of dai ily ncom livin Pre e g paft a . r in A er you g M desc ealsriptio retire n an of d thes moer e fund or 74% 0% 11% 6% 13% Fi Fig gure ure 41 15 Car ,, Per W egork iver centag ers s ’ Ex e pe of Wo cta Non tions rkers -care Ab Who Ag giver out s* Work ree That ing A Car fter Pre egiver pa Retirement sring for Retir vs. Non e Retirees -ca ment Makes regiver28% Actua s Gra T nlly dhem Str paDoi re Car ntng egess iver So, ed sb,y Careg by Careg iver Non iver - careStat giverus s* 0% Want W 10 ith %in Reason20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 6 20 0% % S chroeder, Car an egiver d Kari C. s* W. Wil Non liams. IPUMS -careg Liver ibras ries UoS r Co A: Ve mmrsio Car unity Ce en 1 giver 6. ns te 0 [dataset]. rs Non Minn -careapoli egiverss, MN: IPUMS Care, 2025, g 13% ivers* 58% Non-caregivers to any child under the ag K e e o efp 1 ing 8 b He eca alth us I en o su f a ra m nce ed o ic r O al,t her Benefits* 77% Figure 3 <0.5 63% % 50% 0%29% 10% 20% A De 30fin %ed Benefit to 4 L P 0% le aa nve * a Leg5 a0 cy %Inheritance 60% 70% Worried Ab 8o 0u % t Running o 9u 0t % of Money 100% Figure 29 non much mon -caregive ey t rshey will nee . d to have saved by the time they retir 6% e so that they can live comfortably in 10% Caregivers* Non-caregivers Caregivers Non15% -caregivers Caregivers* Non-ca11% regivers 40% CaregiveCar rs B 0% y G f eac givi iver e ngmany s Me1 d0 ici % n iss esues when Non-2 ca 41% 0r % egiver provid s i3 ng 0% car 60% e Car , i40% e nclu g4 iver 0% di s*ng a 13 ne 5gativ 0%None -ca imp reg6 act on iver 0%s their 70me % Car ntal egiver hea s80lth % and be Non 9i0 ng % -ca lress egiver s100% 64% 18% 10% Managing Finances 57% 30% caregivers invest Focusin b ment o eh g av s and Stat , p io th eci rp al, I os us tions ficall ncom o e ................................ r o to y o tavaila he w er n finan ho ................................ com n bl d e t ithey io /i cial ncre n op ra d rov as dviso isa ed id b................................ e ilit cho r u th y?se ice e, ................................ care, 3 (5 Fipe gu and ac rce re 38 nt tions ). of care ................................ After the giy the vers ................................ hav top and e tak two 39 en, i pboth n ercen res ................................ car ponse to t of non eg ................................ ivers - b c areg e and ing no ivers a care n- ................... care wer giver e gi.......... vers c ur are rently 32 16 Introductio In this Issue n B ................................ rief, the retirement 14%pros ................................ pects, knowledge, ................................ preparations f13% or retirem ................................ ent, and ex 13% perienc $75,0 es in .......................... 00 or r M etirem ore ent are 7 Less Than $35,000 6% $35,000–$74,999 Source: Em hpttps:// loyee Bendoi.o efit Rese rg/ arch 10.18128/D010 Institute and Greenwal.V16.0 d Research , 2 and 026 R U. etireS m.e n Censu t Confides n ce Bure Surveau y. , Current Population Survey, 2025 Annual Social and Economic • Retired caregivers who worked for pay were more likely to say that they did so because they wanted money to 5 10 0% % 9% 9% Gen Xers 45%5%Baby Boomers RetM ire illd en En aial rlie sS r T trh on an g P ly A lan gr n ee e d* Somewhat ARet gree ired AbS oo um t W ewha hent P Di 13% lan 35% san ge rd ee Strongly Disa Ret 28% ir ge re de Later Than Planned Managing Finances $35,000–$74,999 $75,000 or More Sou1 rce 0% : Employee Benretireme efit ReseaL rch ess nt Inst , T ith ha ua ten aving n$ d3 G 5r,0 eeever sav 0 nw 0ald Researe chd 20for 26 R retir etirem59% eeme nt Confnt ide, nce havin Survey.g planned on how to cover a Sibling n em52% ergency expense in 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 0% 20% 49% 0% 60% 80% 100% 40 likely % to have confidence in their Excer lletirem ent* ent pros VNon ep ry ects Go e oo f . d TEm hese ployers Go hav od e opportun B Fy G airitie *ivis n gin Me di df ici fere n Pe os ontia r ting themselves and 48% 0% Car A P eg ro iv de ur ct nT =h 1a ,0 t 0 Ga 6 rantees Monthly Income for Life $ $3 35 5,0 ,00 00 0– –$ $7 74 4,9 ,99 99 9 $ $ 10% 7 75 5,0 ,00 00 0 o or r M Mo or re e include work enumerat ing d w bed ette ith ba p efore r explanat Le Lero ss ss fess T T com ha han n ional financi $3 $3 pari ions for 5,0 5,0ng Y 00 00 es, car P wh 7% lan eg al ether tivers oa Re dvis t ir te vs hey or or re E. n ar liare on er - on prese car tra egn ivers ck Y tat e w s, ive P ith on lan ( Fi t the many o gu Re ir re tir r etirement e di 24 Lmens 16% a )te . In r* additio ions savi of ng No, n, fin 47% s anci 40 No an Cha pe d al mo rce att nge r nt it e inves uof des care , f tm inanci gi ent vers al o pwho tions examined for those who are unpaid caregivers vs. those who do not provide this care. This builds on the 2023 30% 51% Supplemen • Non t. c -care ensus.go givervs. were more likely to have savings and investments of $250,000 or more than caregivers, while Figu •re 18 In bu y e thextras lower , to - and avo id upp reer du -inc cing their ome gro savings, ups, non due to -careginee vers di were ng mo mo ney to m re likely to say t ake ends me heye stro t, to he ngly or lp fina somewhat ncially ManDemogra aginT gh Sa e G ving roph ws a inics gn Ro d ................................ In le ve ostm f Tee ch nts nology/AI Will Ca ................................ use You to Change Jobs ....................................................................................... 7 40% Caregivers* Non-caregivers 44% Caregivers Non-caregivers Caregivers* Non-caregivers Fi Fig gure ure 42 16 retireme ,, Rea Confi sons dnt, ence fan or Wo id n So havi rki cial ng ngS calcu for P ecurity C ay Aft lated Very Con ontinuing to how er R fide et mu ntirin ch the g, by Care S P om rov e ywha w ide Ben ou t Con gi ld nee ver fid efi eSta n td ts of tus to at cover No ................................ Least t Co h nfid ealt E enqu th al e V xpens alue 5% es to .............................. in Those R retirem eceiv ent. e 39% d Now, 33 Managing Savings and Investments 39% 5% increasing retention and attraction by helping caregivers through recognizing the challenges caregivers face and V Ve er ry y Con Confid fide en ntt S So om me ewha what t Con Confid fide en ntt No Not t Co Con nfid fide en ntt 52% Source 0% : Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research 2026 Retirement ConfidenF cei S g uru ver y.e 31 5% activ were desigities n not c ed, f an or urr a d ently fter th retireme working ey r nt etire pre with an a parations. in their top dviso fir ve mos though t valua t theybl woul e improv d work emw ents ith . Howev a profess er ional , careg financ ivers 51% ial inaclud dviso ed r i m n the ore future. Source 3:0 pu E% mp blica loyee Btion enefit R th ese at also arch Institufoc te anus d Gred een won ald care Research gi 2ver 026 R se tin irem th ente CoRC nfideS. nce Caregive Survey. rs in this survey are defined as those who provided caregivers were more likely 11% to have $1,000–$9,999 in savings and inves Atm unt ents or Un . cle Roth IRA Getting in and ous agree t up of B port ot ed with th s andhers Che air stat , sdue ement to nee th ding ben at they 44% efi have ts or eno res ug ources h savings to h to h elp care andl f e or ana lo emerg ved ency or one, and 6% sud due to den lar kee gepi expens ng health e 5 by Caregiver Status and Income ................................................................................................ 4% ............. 16 3 20 0% % Getting in and out of Beds and Chairs54% S So ou ur rce ce:: E E Th m mp pllo oe sa ye yee e B Bm e eCar n n Ho e eple o ffiitt e wever, c R Rg e ese se iver f care a ar rch ch s IIn nst stgivers was weighted to are iittu utte e a agi n nd dvers G Gr rNon e ee en n w wwere - a aca lld d R R re e ese se g iver a a ju r rch ch ss t as likely 2 20 02 26 6 R Rthe e ettiir re em mCaregiving i e en ntt as Car C Co on n ffnon e iid dg e en n iver ce ce- S S car s u un th r rve veeg y. y. e US 202 ivers to have Non 5- ca demographic pro re d giver on se various file o non Caref care -gfin iver anci sgiver al pre age, sex, pa Non ration tas 35% -ca regiver ks s* Expected Retirement Age of Workers, by Caregiver Status As providi sets an ng the d De be bt ne ................................ fits and/or flexibility c ................................ aregivers need to remain $35,0 ................................ 00–$ i 7n 4,9 th 99e work force................................ and/or be mo $7 re 5,0 pro 00 o du r.................... M ctiv oree workers 9 . S So ou ur rce ce:: E Em mp pllo oye yee e B Be en ne effiitt R Re ese sea aLe r rch chss IIn n st st T iittha u utte en a an n$3 d d G G 5,0 r re ee en 00 nw wa alld d R Re ese sea ar rch ch 2 20 02 26 6 R Re ettiir re em me en ntt C Co on nffiid de en nce ce S Su ur rve vey. y. 31% S So ou ur rce ce::pe A similar shar E Em mrs p pllo oonali ye yee e B Be en nzed f e effiitt R Re ese se e inancial a ar r( ch ch 41 p IIn nst stiittu uercent) tt g e e a au n nd did G Gr ra e ee e n n nof ce w wa alld d, which non R Re ese se- a ac r rch ch areg 2 2was 0 02 26 6 iR R vers e e ttthe iir re em m e ealso onl n ntt C Co on ny o ffs iid daid e en nptio ce ce S Sthey e u un r rve vey. y. in the xpe top ct to s w ix ork that with was a fi mo nancial re likely to advis be or .cited by caregivers Fi unp gure ai • d 43 care In , Ret the foirees’ Rat r an adul middle-income tin and g of /or Tgrou heir child wi Stan p ($3 tda hi 5,0 n rd 00 the of – l Livin $74, ast 99 12 g F 9), ca in Retirem mo igu nths in rreg e 2 ive 5 e a nt, rsn were oninstit by Careg mo utional re iver likely to Stat setting usbe ................................ and not confi helpe de d nt i their n t car heir e ........ ability 34 0% 6% Getting Dressed 40% Source:Reti Reti Employerement Conf ree e Benthan insurance efi Ex t Rese car apec rcheg In or stiv itati tuer te o ather s nid . dons and G renc eebe nwan ldefi e Re ts sea t rch Ex han 202perienc 6 th Reteir non irement Con-fes caregivi idence Surveng cou y. nterparts. Source 2:0 E % mployee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. 50% Source: Employee Benefit44% Research Institute and Greenwald Research 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. Getting Dressed4% Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. 34% household inco for retir Hom me, race/ethnici emen e Equity, t. Real Esta ty, and te, or P educa roperty tio fon. r Re Sn ee tal In AARP a come nd National Alliance for Caregiving (2025) (see endnote 3). 20% Niece or Nephew Allowing scheduling flexibility or 24% remoV te er wo y Con rk, fid provid ent ing Somcaregivi ewhat Con ng fide res nt ources Not and Confided entucation, and adding benefits that Source: Employee Benefit Research Institu31% te and Green Car walde R ge iver sears ch 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey.Gen Xers Non-Caregiver Ba sby Boomers Percentage of W Mio llen rk nial es rs and Retirees Wh 37% o Have Tried to Figure Out Ho 51% w Much They Need to 10% Fi Fig gu ure re 17 4 , Confidence in Medicare 35% Continuing to Provide Benefits of at Least Equal Value to21% Thos 1% e Received Now, by than Arrno ang nto choos in -car g Oe utgi side vers e Sth e, rvices e r in th ight eirretirem top six eim nt p pro rovem ducts ents or, whil invese tm non ents -care for their givers situati includon than ed better e non xplanati -caregivers ons f . or t he Descr recipient iptiowith ns o f at least o Caregivers ne ’ Tas activks ity of daily and th39% e Iliving mpact on or inst The rum mental act ................................ ivity32% of daily livin ................................ g. A description of ...................... these caregivers 11 , Realistically, at what age do you expect to retire? 28% 24% Arranging Outside Services 29% To The 2026 gauge R ho CS w added a workers a qnd r uestetirees ion asking fee f l a or b retire out their es’ ret ratin ire gment of the pros ir cu pe rrct ent s, the stanRC dard o S has f an living nu, ally aske and twod -thir Amds of ericans how Fi gure 44, Retirement Lifestyle Is What Was Envisioned, by Caregiver Status ........................................................... 34 10% 10% Save for Retirement, by Caregiver Status and Income can help 6 with paying for caregiving needs to reduce the strain on the employee are poss 44% ibilities 19%for employer 20% Caregive By Feeding r Stat Them us and Income 36% ................................................................................................................. 17 invest For those married, many ment options. F of the qu inancial Sup estio port F ns use rom Fd am the modifi ily or Wo F rk riends erser “you (and y who gave an agour spouse). e n=795 ” Therefore, some o 2% f the responses Fi thos Figu gue re re to 43 30 who m they provide the care, and actions they have taken in response to being a caregiver are enumerated Yes Source: Emp Kee loyee p B te h ne ef iM t Ro en se e ay in rch I Yo nstitu utr e Wo and r G kp ree lace nwal R d Re etir sea erm che 2n 0t 26 Savin Retirem gs P ent C la on nfidence Survey. Roll It Into an IRA (Gr Ind aivi nd dch uaill Ret d irement Account) Bathing or S 40% howering 25% 0% • Caregivers and non-caregivers who are offered a retirement savings plan cited the same top four confident t Retireme caregivers nt Co and heynfi are three dence that th -quarter ................................ ey s and of n their on-car spou egs ivers e ................................ will hav ratede th ee noug ir standar h money ................................ d o f living to live icom n retir fort ement ably thro ................................ as at ug lho eaut their st good ret (Fiire g .......... ur ment e 43). 13 7% Data 69% • Non-caregivers were more likely to say that debt is not a problem than caregivers. eng agement. Furthermore, more than a quarter of caregivers felt they lack the right educational and support resources 0% Figure 20 Bath ing or Showering 34% 0% co uld be because of collective knowledge, understanding, or belief as opposed to just the respondents’ feelings. There is not a Caregivers Non-Caregivers be Figfor ure e 45 com , Agr pareement ing care of givers Spe nd vs. n ing Decisio on-caregnivers s or on Choic many es in di R mens etirement, ions of by fin Caregiver ancial att 35% itStat udeus s, ................................ financial activities, and ...... 35 Figure 27 Getting to and From the Toilet 23% Source: Employee Benmo efit Rst v e Di sesa arch b al il In ity I uabl stitun te su ae impro n rd a G nce ree nIn wa co ld v m Reem e se , aNot rch ents 2 T 02 h6r o Rfor u etg irh em S the en otcial S Conplans fide encu ce rS ity u.r ve Ty. hese improvements included investment or insurance Fi gP ure urch 18 ase a , Per Prcentag oduct Tha e t W Gu ho aran Are Con tees M Tron iefident d th tlo y In fig com u in ree f T oheir u ot r h Lio Ab fe w m ility F ucih g to Ch m uo rn ee oos y4 t6 he ey C the wi ash ll R n It eight ou ed t a in In n d P rev tir ut est eIt m In ments en to t An f oth or e T r Inh vestm eir Si en tuatio t or Savi n, ng by s Account Caregive years . In Car rs th w ee ge iver 20 re 2 smo 6 Rre CS likely , Am Non ericans to rate t -caregiver with heir s h standar igher incom Car d of eg liver es ivi n swere g as fair co moreNon lik mp ely to -ca ared with regiver be s confi non de -care ntCar ab gi eout vers giver h s* (2 aving enou 7 percent Non gh vs. - ca incom r18 eg iver e s Figure 30 Caregivers Figure 38 35% Non-Caregivers Getting to and From the Toilet 33% Figure 14 Fi to hel nanc • • p with ial Back Retire Non m -care groun aj d or heal car giver eg d, ivers Pr sth were iorit and financi wer ies, and Conc mo e mo re lrikely to say e al ev likee e ly to rat nts rns i ................................ n th their e a the t they or a loved ir standar have c on a d lculate of e's life. As mos ................................ living in r d how m etirement uch t current mo as ney t ................................ fcare air than hey w givers o reti uld li be re lieve ke d ly n no the nee -........ y wi d toll 17 Figure 22 way to discern which is a col Percenle tcti ag ve b e W elief ho vs. singular Have E beli veef r F iP on these ge urrs eo 2 nques ally ti ons for those married. Saved for Retir ement, retirement preparations. By Dealing With Incontinence or Diapers 23% Figu n= re 2,0 2 524 Expected Spending vs. Actual SF F piie g gn u ud r re e in 3 3 g6 5 of Retirees, b 8y Caregiver Status Figure 19 The Retir options that Caregive ement Confide r Stat pro us and Incom vide guara nce Pr e Survey pnt aeed lifetim rei i n ................................ sg co fnduct or eV ied n acom r an io Fu e n ig uall s aft u A rer yo ye b ................................ s p 1 y t 2 e u he c retir tEm s e o pl , fm o R yee B ore et fun ir ene ed ................................ m or inves fit Re ents,earch In tment o stitut ptions e ................. (EBRI) and 18 Source: in pe Fi Emgu rce reti ploye re nt) rement, e B e 5 , w ne fit R heil se e and aT rnon ch o In t p st- his i tcare uS te i ah nx deld gi GM v reers et no rue for was ldwer t R eV see aa rboth ch mo lu 20a 2r6e b c R l aregi elikely tie rem I enm vers to rate t Cop nfr i an deo nce F v d it S ie g unon as ex rm ve u y.re -e car n c 4 tell eg s 4 eive tnt. o rR s (e Fitgu ire rem 11 e). nt Ho Swever, c avings are Pgi la vers ns in th , ase upper- By Dealin g With • Inco Caregive ntinence C o o rs r n Di w f ai p ed e re re s mo ncre e l iikely n H a to be vin very or g Eno som ugh ewh Mat o conc ney erne to K d e that ep the Up U.S. g Witov h ernm the ent Comak st o infg significant Source: EmFi plog ye Ca ure e Bsh e n46 I eft it o R ,u e P Exp se t a e an rch r dected c Sp Ine stie tn un te d t Spen a I a ntdg Gre eedi nW wn alg di R tvs eh se. Actual arF chi 2 27% n 02a 6 Rn S etic re pe m ia en nl tdi C K on nfg in deof no cew Re SF ul rve ie tirees g y. $d u 35 g r,0 e e 0 , b 03 a –y $ 3 n Care 74 d Don ,9 9 S 9'gi t u Kver p nop wStat ortus , b ................................ y Caregiv$e 75 r,0 S 00t o a r.................. t M u os re 35 Less Than $35,000 Source: also Emplo b yeee B f enut efiture Rese aor rep rch Institueat car te and GreeD e nw gi e alvers dm Rese o, em ag rchr 2a b 0pl 2p 6y oy Rh eC ters ii rec a m e an r n B te Crg od e nf the i ida v enk e ceir d r S uo be S rvew y. tne a nt fits s u,spartn b a yn C d ers aIr n h e c av g oi em v an eer o S pp tort atu unity to s put resources in place cov caregivers er health e , whxp ile eno nses n-car in reti egiver retir rement t ees han w c ere aregi mo vers re lik . ely to rate their standard of living as excellent. Percentage Who Work With or Think They Will Work BW y Fieted hing a T P hem rofessional Percentage ofF E ivm e p M lo oy se t d C W ite od r k R ee ra ss W on hs o A forre R O eftfie rirn eg d E a aR rle ie tir r e Tm he an nt P S la an vin neg ds, P21% lan and the 7 Financial Advice and CA P odviso e nr fc id e rs e n ................................ n ta cg ee i n W H ha ov A ing b gr y e E C e ................................ n a T o rh u ea g gtih v R e M e ro tS in rte e am y tu e ts o n ................................ tT S ak ae v iC ng as re I s o fN B oa t................................ s aic 20 Ranked by Those Offered a Plan, by Caregiver Status Retirement Lifestyle Is What Was Envisioned, by Caregiver Status Source :Assets EmpG loreenw yee in this Bavailabl enefial t Rd Re ese figure ae/ rchis ncre Iearch. n stdo no itute as aned dt incl T G L he 2 cho reiev nw ude ian 02 ice ld R g 6 e,the v se / R b Ian retter e CS chf 2 alue l w 0a 26t as R i of their homes or any e xplanati o t fielded irn em, e ntb Coy nons w f idC F enith f ce ia g or S r u tw ue rve r whe g e o y. i s v 2 amples (for te h 1 def er you a r S ined tat ben u re o a sefit plan as tot a n t nal rack d s Iampl n w csets ith o em you of . e 2r retirem ,544): a ent gene savings ral , and Caregivers 11% 9% Retire7% menS t A trong gly A e 16% o grf e eRet Siorm e ee wha s 13% ,t A b gy re eCar Disa eg girv eeer 25% Status 19% income group ($75,000 or more) and the lower-income group (less than $35,000) were less likely to be confident in changes to the American retirement system, an economic recession, housing costs will rise, and having to S No ou te r:ce M : o E re m tp hla on ye o en B e e a nn esw fit e R re co seu alr dch b eI n se stlie tu ct te e d a.nd Greenwald Research 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. 70% to help them now Is sp aF nd en in d the a inn g next tim h cig ia her l A ord lo e v wer th is ey co otak r m p o e ar red on t R wit ehis c p h r wh ehall at s y een o n ut gi ex an t pg but i ec vte ed, i wh b nvalua y en C yoa u ble rol r fir est g riet e. vir e ed r ; S Per ta cetn u tag se higher Fi Key findi gure 19 P ng ,e Per sr a cre: centag en tag e e W W hoh Agree o Pa T rh tat R icip ea tirement te b W y h C Savin ea nrF e O igs Is No g gfiu fv e re e re r 6 d S t a ,t P a bty riu ority C s a R re elat giv ive t er o Curre Statunt Nee s and ds, b Iny co Care me giver PriE ox rip ty e n R se els a tD ivu er itn og C R ue rr tiern etm N ee ne t,d b s,y b C ya C re ag rievg eir v e Srt a Sttu as tu asn a dn Id n c In oc m oeme Well-Being Rating, by Caregiver Status • Non-caregivers were more likely to strongly disagree that debt is negatively impacting their ability to save for W hen asked an additional question on whether they agree with the statement that their retirement lifestyle is what Source: Emplopop yee Beul nmo eation sa fit Rre i eseanves rch Imple nsttm ituteent ao ndf 2,0 Go reptions enw 52 ald R Am ese de aericans rch sig 20ned for 26 Re,t irin emc e af lud nt Ct oin e nfr you r ig 1,0 dence Su07 rve etire y.workers . and 1,045 retirees, plus an oversample of 492 Savings a their retirem nd P ent p reparatio rospects ns ................................ than non-caregivers, ................................ while no Fi d gu iffrer e ence 41 res ................................ ulted among those in................................ the middle-income group ...... 22 Source:Fi Fi 8 Emgu gu ploye re re e B e 32 44 n provide efit Research care Institu fo te anr a d Grelove enwald d Ro ese ne aHav rch w 20ho e2 y 6 R h oe u tas i ro em r a d en h id t C y oe no alth fid u e ns ce acon v SF e ur ve i fo g di y. ru r tion erte ire or d 4 mentisab ; Perili ce ty n twi age ll Y im espact their retirement than non- Having Enough SaviA n gg res em t eo nT t t oH h p aa rte tn p ha e d ry el ae fr oe r a h re a n tv ir in e E g mm e th ne e t, rr h eg a tir ve e e m n yo ec n ut y …? l ifo e sr ty S le u end vis d io e nn ed Large Expense, Marital Status Health Status The income q Status an uestio d ns in RCS Inc Whic om h fe e a ask ................................ ture swo wo rkers uld b, e“W theha mt was your total ost v ................................ aluable impr househ ovements ol td inco o ................................ yourme in 2025 retirement s, before taxes?” and avings p................................ lan? ask retirees 18 , Of the 14 tasks as Ho ked w ca on bout fidenin t arth e te hesyurvey that th , ecaregivi y will hav ng e e Ret wor noir ue g ker e hs m s no =s n 1aid e ,0 y4 t 5 o that keep they up wi htelped h the c w ositth g of liv roc ingery or /inflatio other sho n? pp 60% ing (91 Agreement With Knowledge and Support of Financial Needs; Percentage Strongly or Somewhat Agree Age when they retired they envis retireme ioned, nt/l care iv gi evin comfort g retirees ably i wer n retir e mo ement re like than ly to car say th egivat ers they . somewhat or strongly disagree that their lifestyle Workers’ Expectations Abon u =t 2 ,0 W 52orking After Retirement vs. 60% caregiver respondents (resuD lting eb in t L a total evel of a 7P 01 care rob Ret le gi ir m v eer w e,s b n=y ork 1,0 C 4ers 5ar and 305 egiver care Sta gi tv uer retir s ees between the two by Caregiver Status The res ($35,000 ults –$74, from this surv 999). Specifi ey c ally, and ot 32 her perce care nt of givin care g-foc giver used s w res ithearch incom will be part o es of $75,000 f a oc r more aregivi wer ng proj e not ect that confide wnt ill d that evelop, A • re yC care ou ar ofegivers gi fevers red a. r e twe irem re en tless savinli gk s p ely to lan tha s t a ay th llows at yP oe their ur c to e m nta a healt g ke e Y ce os n, th s r nib =2 uta ,0 tio 5tus n 2s fr is ome yxcel our slent alary? or Em ver ployy g ed fo ull o d or, p les art s tim lie kely n=786 to Percentage that Strongly Rea ors S oo nm fo er wh rea tir t A in n= g g2 r e e ,0 e a5 T r2 lih ea r t t h Ret anir p ela mn en ne td Savings Is Not a Priority “Including money y How confid ou receive ent are thed from S y that theoc y w ial Security, defined be ill have enough money to nef tak it pl e ca an res o , i f t nv heestmen ir basic ts, ex an pend other sour ses during the ces, w ir retirha emt was your ent? Retirement Age ................................................................ Retirees who................................ gave an age n=957 .................................................... 26 Emplo Car yee r g oiver ffer ss a retirement sa Non ving -Car s pe la gn ive nr = s570 percent), housework (86 percent), preparing meals (84 percent), and trans Will W portatio ork Withn a (82 Fina pe ncia rc l ent) Advismo or in st often the Futu ( rFi e gure 8). Retirees Actually Doin ng =2 ,0 S 5o 2 , by Caregiver Status Marrie • d The distributions of Single, the N a ever ges at Married which bot Fih c guar reegi 16 vers and non-caregiver53% s retired were not is wh at they envisioned than non-caregivers (Figure 44). Specifically, 50 percent of caregiving retirees disagreed that Figure • • Cu 20 Caregive Caregive rr,e Co ntly ncern Wor ret r rkwor in Ag bout ir W kers ees ith P a w wer articular F ere ina e nmo mo cial rrScen A e e dlike like visarios oly to som ly to say r Imp acti ewh that they nat g or Retireme n stro ow n gl pl nt, y an di by to reti sagre Care Exce e re gi t llhat they ver elater tha nt/V S etat ry G us are o n o ................................ d no * hav n-caregiver Go ing od the ret F w air/ ir or P ement kers oor*........ . 19 samples). T Ah ree y survey ou curre of ntly b c ot oh ntrs ib ampl utinges was to the p conduct lan? Offeed ren d= on a 2n ,0 lin e 5m 2e plo January yer-spo 2 ns– o28 red, 2026 retirem.e All nt sres avinpondents gs plan n= 5w 70 ere ages 25 they will have enough money throughout their retiremen Fin tg ,= u 2 com ,0 re 52 pare 9 d with 23 percent of non-caregivers with these highlight, and disseminateRat thin e ge o du f scatio pecifnal res ic well-bources eing att that ribute e s;mploy Perceners tag w e ro atuld ing e nee xced lleto nt h ore vlp er y employe good e caregivers become have a household income of Re $7 tir5,00 ees w0 o ho rr mo etired re ear,li and er thamo n pla re nn likel ed, n=y to 546 be fema n=1,3 le. 37 The share of caregivers total household income in 2025, before taxes?”Car egivers Non-Caregivers 90% Di vorced or Separated Not Married, Living With Partner* Households’ description of their level of debt Retiree Figures 6s aid Co they pr nfideov nc ide e th ine S same ocia four l S ta ec sk u sr mo itys t often Cont, b inut u transport ing to P ation ( rovid 81 ep B erc eent) nefiw tas s c oited f a the t Le sa econd st most n=2,0 Yo 5u 2 feel you have enough savings to handle an emergency or sudden large expense. 50% Financial Background, Priorities, Car eand givers Concerns Non -Caregivers Workplace diff Ret erirement ent. Ho Savin wever gs Pl , car ans egiv ................................ er retirees were mo ................................ re likely to have ................................ retired earlier than ...................... planned 4 than 29 100% their lifestyle was what they envisioned, compared with 33 percent of non-caregiving retirees. Fi gure 21 lifest yle they envisioned than Action the s T ira nk on e- n car aeg s iver a R count es5u 0% ler t parts of P . roviding Care or old Investe mr. enT t ohe r In su ge rane nceral Oppopul tions Thation sam at Provide Guple aranwas teed Lw ifeeighted time Incom by e age, sex, household income, an53% d race/ethnicity. 82% All be incomes tter pr.ep Thes aree d w for ere retir both em h ent an igher than d hav i e ni 2023 mprov (ed 26 p well erce -be nt an in ng. =2 ,0 d 17 perc 52 ent, respectively). Sources who osf aiIn d th come at their health in Retirement Will y st ouatus work i fs o excell r pay afe te nt or r you very retire g ? oo Wod rkw eras s w 3 ho 6 spe ayrc thent ey wi , com ll retir pe are n=d 86 w 4 ith 45 percent among Equal Value to Those Received N nn =o = 22 ,0 w ,0 55 , 2 2by Caregiver S 36% tatus and Income Overall E Ofxp fer ee nd se as/S Plan pendingCon * tributing Money When Offered Figure 21, Well-Being Rating, by Caregiver Status .................................................................................................. 19 9 10 60 0% % among retirees instead of fourth, as it was for workers After Yo.u Retire 77% 50% Figure 34 8 10 0% 0 % The sources of non-car fere egi d as ver choi reti ces were onl rees. Caregivers ine resources a were mo nd r re l esea ikely rch y to have Car ou do egiver 41% retire on your ow s d earli 36% er th n; f 40% amil an pl y aan nd ne friends d becaus 40% ; a pers e they onal 23% ha , d Di I Car n scu 2 esse g 026 iver d Whe , th s e n Y Ro CS ask u Hopeed (d) ques to Retirtions e and ab theout Hop re e fo srpond Your L ents ifestyle ’ ret inirement planning and priorities. Specifically, 66% the survey asked 49% Have y 21% ou worke 13% d for11% pay si 5% nce you retired? Retirees n=1,045; Percentage Yes 90% caregiver respondents (regardless of sample) were weighted separately by age, sex, and household income to Sources of Income in Retirement You Ha ................................ d a HeaM ltha P jor ro P br lem oblem or a Disab ................................ Mil in ity or Problem Not a................................ Problem* ........................... 93% 31 46% non-caregivers. Fifty-three percent of careg 38% ivers had 4h 5ous % ehold incomes of $75,000 or more vs. 62 percent of Nine •in 1Caregive 0 caregivers rs w e and re mo nore n- l care ikely gi vers to s Say that t trwho plan ongly Agrhe ee ned y d isagr to S om retire ee ew tha ha or t At they g had ree retire fee Dl is d th ag ex e ry have ee pe * ct 91% edenou to or gh did savings to receive Soc handle ial Security an 40% Have done any of the following as a result of being an unpaid caregiver. 27% Retirement More Fund or Investment Options Available/Increased Choice 70% The expenses How cthat a onfidenr t etire are th e f eyace that are the S an oc i ia m l S portant eCar cure itg yiver seleme ys stem nt i will n co the ntin Non u lifes e- t Car oty pe rle g oive vthat idre s b retir enefit 33% e ses at l have, so east simila un r tode thrs ostand e toding h ay? ow Car professio eg • • iver sna N Non on l finan - -care care 13% cigi gi al adv ver vers retire iso were r; your emplo es mo wre ere li kely to rat mo yer re l ’s 36% ike HR o ly to e th r ben eir stro efits emot ngly a departmen ional well gree that -tb ; ein represe they ar g; th 24% e hav ntatives eir health, 41% ing the from your wo in reti general; rement rkplace retirement and th lifes 26% ty eir le fthey inanc 18% ial 90% to care for a spouse or another family member t5han non-caregivers, while non-caregivers were m 41% ore likely to W about ith re their gard to confi other dence aspects in the of ir a r bi etirem lity toent, choos the e share the rigfe ht retirem eling confi ent dep nt roducts that they or inv wiest ll hmen ave eno ts for ug the h m ir oney to tak situation. e care 45% Figure 22, Percentage With Financial Knowledge and Support, by Caregiver Status .................................................. 20 90 Car % egrefle iver Yos u Do ct the Not car Knoeg w W iver h26% o t p o G opu o to lat foion r Goin od the Fina 7% nUnit cial o ed r Re Stat tirem es. ent 26% 12% 16% 86% 12% 70% 49% 40% 38% 25% 51% 10 10 0% 0 An e % mergency or sudden large expense can derail an individual’s retirement planning, so having enough money to 80% non 49% -caregivers84% , while 61 percent of caregivers 49% 84% were female compared with 47 percent of non-caregivers. In additio emerg n to help ency or ing wit sud h p dehys n lar ical getas expens ks, careg e than non ivers can -car also egive prov rs. ide financial support. Thirty-four percent of Non-Car income i egiversn retir Therement e W 13% ere Chan (Figure ges at Y 9% 40Hea )ou . Ov rlth Com er C 8% ap rs e an ev oy, S ren De uch a n in tal E 1s 0 xp D a 19% o elso w nse nsi s* expect zi n= ng 2,0 , 52ed to or 14% 42% did receive income 22% in retirement from a 15% Retiree • Ex Caregive pectations rs w and Ex ere mope rerie likely nces to s ................................ ay that t Caregive he r; y retire Wo W rk oe rke rsd earlie n rs................................ =701, Ret Re r than ir tir ee ee s* s p n= la 3nne 05 d than ................................ non-caregivers. .................... 33 50% Non-retirees Caregiver s B are a etter Ep xp proachin lanations fo g r W thei heth r expenses er You Are on and h Track Wo itw h Ymu our R ch etirt ehese e ment 40xpens % es33% are relative to what is expected provides plan provider well envisione /TS -bein P;g d fina as 52% tha ncial experts excellent n their car or eg , ve guru 22% ivry good er count s, or influen 14% Pl than erpart ann 7% ing non cers 35% 5% Ad s. vice - car in the me egive Non rs dia .- ca or regon iversoc s ial media; ChatGPT or other AI tools; libraries have retired earlier than planned because 49% they could afford to do so and be 33% 45% cause they were o 40% ffered an ear 15% ly Confidence in this ability increased with income, but caregivers in the middle-incom36% e group were more likely to be not of their basic expenses during their retire 39% ment increased with income (Fi 60% gure 12). 31% However, again, care 66%givers in the 80% Appendix 1: Methodology Closure, or Reorganization 78% 54% 38% 30% cov er such an expense is important for individuals to sta Say on vings track. Again, as their income increased, Americans were 40% 80% Thought About the Age at Which 45% to Claim Social Security Benefits 60% caregivi workplac ng wor e retirement sav kers and 20 ings percent plan and of care pergi sonal ving retir retirees eme nt sav reporting ed sthat or inv they esthave ments give — n such money as m or utu pral ovfu idnd eds fi , nanci certifal icates 7 90 0% % 56% Workers Retirees42% 100 9% 0 Fi % gure 23, Sources of Information Us 25% ed for 74% Retirement Planning, by Caregiver Status .............................................. 21 90% valuabl or community centers; onli e insight into retiree ne a s’ financial nd social medi comfort a posts or c in retireo ment. mmunAt a ities; ge robo neral level, -advice or o knther onli owing ifne a a retir dvic ee e based o 63% is able n for to spe mulas; nd Conclusion retireme ................................ nt package from th ................................ eir employer. ........................................................................................... 36 up confident t per- and han lower non -income -caregi g ver roup s (Fi s gu were re 18 mo ). re l Those thikely to in th be e u not pp er conf -incom ident e g that roup they wer wi e ll less have likely enoug to a h m greoney to cov e that retirement er basic 20% 35% 35% 38% • Car 57% egivers were more likely to have lower levels of financial assets and more likely to have a Fi The Retir gure 11 eme nt Confidence Survey, in its 36 year in 2026, is the longest-running survey 42% of its kind, measuring worker 70% more Figure like 35 0% ly to feel they 20%Mor h e Iave n4 ve 0st % e mnou ent Op gh mo 6t0 io % ns De ne sigy to cov 8 n0 e% d for After e 1r0 Y 0an em o % u Retire ergency or sudden lar 30% ge expense (Figure 29). Non- You Had to Care for a Spouse or Another Family Member* support to their caregiving recipi31% ent (Figure 9). Furthermore, roughly one i0% n five ca 32% 2re 0% giving 4worker 0% s 6s 0aid % they 80borr % ow 1ed 00% of deposit ( 76% CDs), or checking/savings accounts. After these top three sources of income for both caregivers and non- 35% 70 Fi Fi %gu gure re 45 22 Housing Expenses* 40% 78% 36% 6 90 0% % mo nonney h -profito w or th reli ey w gious ant organiza within reason tions that o ff focus ers this insig on serving ht. Si a specific xty-thre group o e percent r commun of care ity; givot ers her; a agree nd n d tha one of these t they are a . The ble to 50% 34% 80% Emotional Well-Being/Mental Health* 37% 20% savings is not a priority relative to current needs than those in the lower-income gro 30% up (Figure 19). However, there is 80 expens De % mogra es thaphics n non-care givers — 57 percent vs. 45 percent and 25 percent vs. 18 percent. Caregivers in the upper- and 80% Figure T24 ho pro , ug Per ht ble Acentag bo m wi ut How e th d /W Give Whe ho ebt n re M W Yo ou ork n tha e Li y o With ve n r P — non ro B vide or oth -car th d Thi F e ina egi nk Hom n T cial S v e h er T ey Wi ype s up . pThi an orll td rty Work -fo With ur percent a Prof of ess caregivers ional Financi had al less Advis than or or R 64% $10ep ,000 in resentativ e, 35% and App caregivers r end etire ix 1: M Bee ttin eco r bot Enfi xp ethodolo la d h nence athe tions l ab fow gy or H o ................................ er o u w - t retirem M and uch upp Incoent, a mer e Y -i onc urnd S om a i vise n conduct g ................................ gro s Wilup l Prs o de w ud ce ere an in nuall more y b liky el ................................ the y to fe Emel ployee that t Bene hey h fit Res av ................................ 43% e eno ear ug ch In h to h stitut and e le a (EBRI) ...... n 36 60% 30% 73% 43% 60% mo caregivers Yney f ou Have t rom , som he fam Righ e ily t diff Edu an erenc cati d frie onal end s an e s d S merg 26% (24 uppo p eerce rd t R in esou t nt) he r, ces s had ources to H tak elp en of W on ith incom new e. or Car ad eg diitional vers 20% wer debt e mo (20 re pe like rcent), ly to o exr reduce p 68% ect to d or th alre e aamo dy unt 46% 27% 41% • Caregiving retirees were more likely than non-caregiving retirees to rate their current lifestyle in sources not listed in the figure were only cited by 5 percent or less of the caregivers and non-caregivers. 60 s % pend mo Ge ney ogr ahow phic Lth oca ey tiowan n — M t wi ight th Ain ffect reas Youon r Re , w tireh m ich ent was Lifestyl lower t e han the 76 percent of non- 51% caregivers who agreed they 305 % 0% You Could Afford to Retire Earlier Than You R P etilanne remen dt 63% 80% • In the lower-incom Age e group (less than $35,000) and the upper-income 27% group ($75,0 Ra0 c0 e/or mor Ethnic e), ity caregivers not a lower-sincome tatistica group lly sigsn iwer ficae nt mo difre fere like nce ly to in a be greeing not con thi fide s isnt they not a p are rio d rity oing/did a be 41% tween g care oodgi job vers at and prepari nonng -care fingi anciall vers y in fo eac r h • Caregive by Carer ret giverir S ees w tatusho ret ................................ ired earlier than pl ................................ anned were more like ................................ ly to say that they did ............................... so because they had 21 40% the Mas jo avings an r Health and d Fin inves ancitm al Eents vents co in mpared Your Life o with r a Love 25 d p On ercent e’s of non-caregivers. At the same time, caregivers were 44% more and Almo Gre st three enwal id n R 1esear 0 Amer ch. ican The 2026 s (29 peRCS was rcent) ages fielded 25 or wo ith lde two r wer sample e unps a (for a id careg tot ival er o s f an= s d2,5 efine 44d ): a abov gee ne in ral 202 popul 6 (Fi ation gure 70% emerg • • ency N N 0% on on 32% ex - -care care pense gi gi1 ver ver than 0% retire s were their es mo 235% 47% car 0 w % re ere eg li ive kely to st mo r c re l 3ounterp 0% ikeron ly to gly arts 32% agree or 4. 0 % som that ew the ha 50t ag % y are ree abl that th e 6 to s 0% ey have pend 37% mo 70 the %ney h righ ow t 8ed 0 th %uc ey w ation ant al 9withi 0an % d n 100% 70% they contributed to a retirement savings plan (19 percent). Caregiving retirees were less lik46% ely to have done any of the 70% receive income from work for pay than non-caregivers (69 percent vs. 60 percent), while non-caregivers were more 30% Appendix 2: Figure Statistica Thl e A Sim gn ou ifnicance t of Taxe Key s Yo ................................ u Have 52% to Pay ................................ 24% ........................................ 37 5 10 0% % retirement as fair, while non-caregivers were more likely to rate it as exc 53% ellent. Furthermore, are a ble to spend how they want (Figure 45). Furthermo Life*re, care 25% givers were more likely to agree that they spend less More Personalized Financial Guidance* 27% 73% 10 Borrowed Money From Family or Friends 41% income grou were p .mo re likely to say that they are not confident that they w27% ill have enough money to live comfortably 254 7 % 0 0 5% % 0 their % retirem to care ent than for a the spouse or ir non- an care ot gi her fam ver counterp ily mearts mber (Ftig han uret he 13ir ). non Sev-enty care-gi on ver count e pe 33% rcent erpart and s29 . percent of caregivers in The offere likely d re to s asons f ay thor reti at debt is ring earlier than a problem — plann 69 ed percent were compar you could af ed with ford to 57 retire earli percent amon er tha g n n yon ou pla -care ngi ned vers ; you h . ad a 1).25 Care –34 givers 35 62% –44* were 45 less –54 likel 55 y –64 to have 65– h 74ousehold 75 or O lde income r* s of $75,000 o 11% 42% 38% r more or to be retired55% . They were more likely to sample of 2,0 25% 52 Americans, including 1,007 workers and 1,045 retirees, plus an oversample of 492 caregiver s reas upport r on tha eso n ur their cescar to help egive w r c itounterp h the majo artsr h . ealth and financial events inW the hiteir life Black or a lov Hisp ed an o icne’Ot s life than her non- You Did Not Want to Return to the Office/Needed More Remote Work 30% likely actions to , ex exc pe ep ct to or t having a lrea retire Und dy d ereceiv r 6 ear 0 lier e or incom 60–later tha 61e from 62 n a de –e 64 xpect fined ed 65 ( be 15 nefi pe 66 trc pla –69 en13% n t), b (64 p ut outsi 70 o ercent r Olde de r vs of. 5 retirin Neve 8 perc r Re g ent at tir ea time ). One d -hialf ffer of en t than Figure 25 T, h oPer ughcentag t About How Y e of Wo ou Wi rkers ll Occu an pd y Y R oet uri T rees Who ime in Re45% tir Hav emene t Tried to Figure Out How Much They Need to Save for 60% caregiving retirees were more likely to disagree that their lifestyle in retirement is what they envisioned and 60 than % perhaps they could because they are worried about running out of money than non-caregivers (64 percent vs. 46 40% 24% 60% Endnotesthrougho ................................ ut their retireme ................................ nt years than non-care ................................ givers. ................................ 59% ............................. 23% 41 Caregive the lowerrs - an in d many uppe irnst -income ances g had rou less ps, resp confid ectiv ence ely, i n w the erei r f not in ances t confideha nt n that nonthey -care are giv doing/di ers. In particu d a goo lar, care d job of givers prepa in ring the health problem oM r a disab ore Fund o ilrity Inve ; there stment O were chan ptions Availa ges a ble/Inct your re39% ased C co hompan ice 20y, such % as downsizing, closure, or reorganization; because Non 60-% Caregivers 27% 41% 38% 18% 15% 30% res be pondents female (6 (r 1 perce esulting nt vs. in a 47 tota perc 36% l of ent 701 amo carneg g iver non w -car ork eg eiv rsers an)d and 305 to be careg employ iver retir edees . between the two samples). The 20% 0% 40% caregivers. 52% 20% 35% 33% Non-Car plann egiver eds, the Retireme y citednt, the b same thre y Careg 29% iver e Stat action us and Inco s as8% caregiv mein ................................ g workers 23% the most often ................................ . H15% owever, many of ........................... 16% the caregivers 9% di d 22 c aregivers and non-caregivers expected to or did receive income from a product that guarantees monthly income for 20% Taken on New or Additional Debt more likely to T sray that vario avel, Entertainm us ex ent, orpe Lenses isure E axp re en hi se gh s*er in retirement than what they expected compared with non- 20% pe The rce 2026 nt). Ho RCS w ever, car also asked eg ive abrs out an the d n lon eve -car l of eg conc ivers ern agre reg ea drding at the var same ious rates scenarios that t that hey spen could im d less pact than Am th ericans ey cou ’ ld • Non-caregiver retirees who retired earlier than planned were more likely to say t 36% hat they did so because they • Thirty-four percent of caregiving workers and 20 percent of caregiving retirees reported that they Caregivers Non Yo-u ca Ha red g a iver He s alth Problem Car or a eg Disab ivers ility Non 15% -caregivers Caregivers Non-caregivers* 3 50 0% % lower fin of chan anci • - ally an ges in t Caregive d up for pe retireme he s r- r ret income kills requ irnt ees , gr co ired for your jo w oups mpared ere mo were r with e like les b or your skill 5 s ly to a 1 conf percent igr deee nt i an th s no lo n at th d having 22 nger ey s pe e rc pe no ent, r matching job requirements; n ugh money d less espe than ctiv28% ely, p to liv ero hap e f non com 40% s they -car forta you wa eg could beca bl ive y r througho nted to do s in th use ese i the ut som nco y a ething me re 50% Investment or Insurance Options That Provide Guaranteed Lifetime Income 67% 50% survey of both samples was conducted online January 2–28, 2026. All respondents were age53% s 25 or older. 50% Caregivers 15% 20% Your Em 15% ployer Is S 22% upportive a 19% nd Helpfu22% l When Ma 15% jor Life 7% Events 33% 30 lif none %e, such of thas e a ac n tions ann, as uity;was t a Rohe th IRA; case f or or ho 41 me e perc qu ent ityo , r f ea cal regi estvin ateg work , or Car p eg roperty iver erss andfor re 59 pe ntra cent of l incom car e. eg Finiving ancial retire supp es. ort from 15% 44% 62% 12% 16% 9% Estimated caregivi How Mung reti ch Incom rees e Yo.u Wi ll Need Each M Hea onth lth in , in A R G fe te tir e r n e Ye m oru a e l* n Rtetire retireme Figure 12 nt. 37% Despite high levels of concern by all Americans, caregivers were more likely than non-caregivers to express because the could affor y would li d to ke retire to leave a earlier le t gacy han plan inherita ned t nce. han their caregiver counterparts. provide financial support to their caregiving recipient. Furthermore, 20 percent of caregiving workers The marital statuses of caregivers vs. non-caregivers were very similar, with the one exception being that caregi 33% vers Source:retireme Fi group else; Em gpure loye you h s e . B 26 eThe nt tha ne,f iad t tPer Rs ee secentag o c n anot rch the are f In-st co ir itue tnfident or a spouse or another f no e aof nn d Wo G -ca reen regi rkers w levels ald R ver e an se awer rcount ch d R 2e 02et 6hi R e ierees Who gh r tpart iramil em er en s tin y memb C . Howev o nthe fid Hav en l ceo Ser; wer ue er, rve Tr y. you were offere -w income ied to hen it Fi g co gru oups, as con mes re Out d an to How tas early r ksfi t M de o etirement pack uch They pre nce paring in do 56% Nee in fo g r retirem d age or your em a g to oo Save d jo ent, for b of ployer 10% Figure 23 worrie 18% d about r Hap unn pein n tg o E out of mploye money t es or Theihan r Love td heir non Ones -caregiver count 19% erparts. 37% 20% $35,000–$74,999 $75,000 or More Reduced the A Le m ss ou T nha t Y n o$3 u Co 5,0 n00 tribu 23% te to a Retirement Savings Plan 40% 40% 27% 40% You Could Afford to Retire Earlier Than You Planned* 71% 40 family or % friends, including inheritances, was expected or was a current source of inc37% om 45% e in retirement for four in 10 of 10 10% % 21% S Mp oe re n d In ing ve t sto m S en utp O pp otrit oo ns r He Desi lp ga n F eda fm oril A y M ftere Y m ob ue R r*etire 15% 0% 20% 30% 40 2% 0 concern % about an impact to their retirement from the U.S. government making significant chan 37% ges to the American 10% 45% and Retireme 15 percen nt, bt of y Careg careg iver iving retire Status and G es haen d teaken on ration ................................ new or additional debt ................................ as result 29% of being a...................... caregiver 40% . 23 incentivized y were The ge mo neral re l population ik ou to ely to tak be e an n sam ot emarr apl rly retirement; e w ied as , l wei ivinght g w you did not w ed ith by a partn age, se eran x, (Fi t to house gure return 2). hold to C inco aregi the off me, an vers ic e/needed wer d re ace/et mo more remo rehni likely city t . A o say tll e wo care that rk; giver an thei d you h r healt ad h preparin caregivers Thought A gb o fwe ina 16% ut W rncial e hojus Wou ly t as lik increas ld Provide ely es with as n Ca 13% 37% re fon o i r Y - ncom care ou If giv Y e. o uers Be to h came 16% ave Unwell discussed when they hope(d) to retire and their lifestyle in Figures 12% 13% 25% 15% The role and responsibilities of being an unpaid caregiver were more likely to have a negative impact on the caregivers’ 35% 48% 30% 10 0% % Despite • care In the giv lers ower bei - ng mo and upper re like -inc ly to ome be gro not up conf s, caregi id 20% ent vers about wer ma e mo ny a res l pe ikely cts of to b retir e not ement a confi 12% de nd mo nt that re lt ike hey ly to will be hav 12% e both Givencar that eg car iv 6% ereg s and ivers n on ap- pe car areg edivers 19% to be mor . e concerned about their spending than non-caregi 33% vers, it is not surprising that 30% • Non-caregiver retirees who retired earlier than planned were more likely to say that they did so because they Better Explanations for Whether You Are on Track With Your Retirement retireme and Neednt sys ed H Te hlp etem re W Wer ith, T an eh Ch ing econo a s L ngike es a m Tt ric a Yn o sp reces uro Co rtam tio sp ion n a, nM y, , ehousin S al P uch re a ps ag rD 39% acos o tio wnsizing n, ts o rrising, , and having to provide care for a loved one who has a 30% 0% Figu •re 46 Caregive rs were more likely to say they use family and fr10% iends and online resources and research they do on Non 3-0 Car % egivers 10 s an % tat otus is her work 0% fair o 18% -related reas r poor 118% 0(% 23 on. per 18% cent com 20% 18% pare3d 0 16% % with 15 13%p 4erc 0%ent amo 5n 0% g non-care 60gi %vers 27% ). Ho 70wever, t % hey 80% were mo 9r 0e %likely to 100% retireme respondents nt; th (rough egart dlabout ess of t sample) he age at whi were ch to weighcl te aid m So sepa cial rately by Security Non 5% age, -Carb eg enefits iv sex, ers an ; thou d hog usehold ht ab 60% out h incom ow/ e t whe o ref re l13% th ect th ey liv e 16% e — 10% 5% Car Take eg niver a Ls oan or WithdrNon awal F -car ro em giver a Re s tirement SaCar ving es P giver lan s Non-caregivers 36% Car 50% egivers Non-caregivers* 30% mental health 0% than 1th 0% ey were to im 20% pact th 3eir 0% ability to 40 do % Savi n sg pe s cific 50% financial 6tas 0%ks (Figu7 re 0% 10). Among 80% caregiving 90% 100% 29% 6% C Flos inan urci e, al M or R ae na or ge ga m niz en ation t concerne Figure 27d , Per about various centage W sc ho enarios that Have Ever Per could sonally Save impact th d for Ret eir financ ireme es an nt d , b ret y Ca ireme 24% reg nt t iver han Status a non-car nd In egivers com, care e .................. givers were 23 Car enough mon egivers* ey to care Non-ca of re b giver ass ic expenses Car de uring the givers ir ret 7% irement t Non-careg han ivers non-caregi Car vers egiver . s* Non-caregivers 0% caregivers were we of re fmo erere d l aikely n early than retir no en ment -careg packag ivers to s e or ay th their em at their plo yer inc expens entiviz es in s ed pecifi them to c categori take an es co early mpared retirement with whe than n 0% • The role and responsibilities of being an unpaid caregiver are more likely to have a negative Sou20 rce% : Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. health Fi One gure of conditi th 1, e Dem mo on or disa ographic B st discussbility erea d iss kdowns, (Fi ues gure regar Lo 20 by ng- ) di . Ca Tn er Fg urthermo regi m th Ca e ver re E eco Status xpen nom re,se cy is s* aregi ................................ invers flation. wer Rough e less l ly ik h ely ................................ al f to of rate 44% bot h var car ious egivwel ersl.......................... an -bein d n g on me - asures 8 their own as sources of information for retirement planning than non-caregivers. Better Explanations for How Much Income Your Savings Will Produce in be caregiver ages 35 p– o4 p4 ulation in t and less lhe ikeUnited ly to be a States ges .75 Unw or older. eighted T sample here wer sizes ar e no sig e nif note icant d on difch ferences arts to p in rov rac ide e i an nformat d ethnicit ion f y or both th Yoe ho u Beli me type eve That and Techno ge log ographic locat y and AI Will Help ion Yo u — M mi anagh get Y affect our their retirement lifestyle; thought about how they will 11 Strongly Agree* Somewhat Agree S16% omewhat Disagree* Strongly Disagree* 20% 0% workers, Car 64 ep giver ercent s said thNon eir -me carental givers health is neg Carat egivel ivery impact s ed by Non- care careggi iver vin s 27% g. The fin Car anc egial iver ta s sks most li Non kely to b -caregiver e s 20 Caregiv % ing Car ean giver d no s* n-caregivi Non ng- ca workers regivers were equa Car lly egliver ikely to s$35,0expect 00–$74 Non ,9 t9o w 9 -carork egiver in r s etirement Car , e with giver s* r $ough 75,000 ly o rthre Mo Non re e -ica n rfour egiver s 0% The lower-inco Leme group ss Than $3 5,0 did not 00 have a sufficient number of emplo 0% yed individuals to report reliable results. as l Calcu ikely as lated n Ho ow M n-care uch M giovers ney Y tUnd oo have u Wou er 6ld 0 d Lon ikele y N ve arious 60 ed – t 61 o Co nve on r He -fi62 n aancial lth –64 tasks 65 to prepare 66– f 69 or retirement. Ho 41%70 or Olderwever, they appear to they fir st retired are higher than what they expected Rie n all tiremeof nt the 7% categories l 29% isted, except the amount of taxes they 20% • Retire their ca d reg cariver egivers counter were parts Y mo ou Wan r.e like tedly to say to Do Som that the ething Else ir overall expens 19% es/spending; health care or dental impact on the caregivers’ mental health than on the performance of specific financial tasks, but a as excellent or very good (Figure 21). Sp Fe incificall ances a y, s Y oonly u Ag 38 e$ 3pe 5,0rc 00ent –$74o ,9 f ca 99 regivers rated their emoti $onal well 75,000 or M-o brein e g/mental 10% caregivers 0% in the Less 2 lo 0 wer T % han -two $35,0 4Ret 0 inco % 00 iredme Ea 6r0 ligroup % er or La ste 8wer 0 r T %he annot Exp 10 e con 0ct %edfident that they will have enough money to keep up with the Caregivers Non-caregivers* Caregivers Non-caregivers* Fi be gtw ure een 28 care , Pergi centag vers and e Wno hon Hav -care e gi Ev vers er Per . sonally Saved for Retirement, by Ca 0% regiver 20 Status a % 40nd G % eneratio 60% n ............. 80% 24 10 0% margin occupy th -ofeir - Car erro ti egme in retir r estimat ivers es. em Tent he 16% ;mar est Non imat gin -ca of ed re error wo g h iver ow s much uld be ± 3.1 income they perce wou ntage ld nee p Car oi d nts ee gach iver fo sr w moork nth ers in, retir ± 3ement .0 perc Non-Car ;entag an egd iver e 16% thoug spoints ht Expenses in Retirement* 43% Figure 13 15% 14% 49% 14% Fi doin impacte gure g so 2, d (Dem by Figur caregi ographic B e 41vi ). Howev ng amo reakdowns, ng er, worker 52 peby rce s w Ca nt ere of regi sca ver avin reg Status g for iving emerg ................................ retirees encies report (56 ed pe that th rcent) ................................ ey and did workin work for g th pa e y after hours .......................... the they y re want tired or, 8 25% have falle n behind non-caregivers in many Fin f an ina cial Well- ncial aspe Being*cts. Thus, even though caregivers are doing many of the right 9% Better Explanations for the Investm 9% ent Op$ $ tio 3 3n 5 5s ,0 ,00 00 0– –$ $7 74 4,9 ,99 99 9 $ $7 75 5,0 ,00 00 0 o or r M Mo or re e Fi have to 12 gure 25 pay expens (Fig Le Le es; ure ss ss h T T ha ha 46 ou n n )s. $3 $3 ing For 5,0 5,0 exp 00 00 example, enses; travel, 53 percent entert ofainment, caregivin or g ret leisirees ure e sxp aid e 21% nses that th ; spen eir overall ding 26% to e sx up pe port or nses are high help a f er amily than 10 1% 0% number of financial tasks are still impacted. Among caregiving workers, 64 percent said their mental Very Confident Somewhat Confident Not Confident 20% cos health Unsurpris t of as e Y livi oung/i Wer xce ingly nfl e llen O , t ation ffhose wi t or ered very ( aFi n E gu th a arg r ly Ret e ood retirement plan 14 ir)com e . m W en hil p t ared P ea c cka onfidence w gwere eith , or 5 Y1 more l oupe r E was rc mp e ikel loye nt higher y to be co of r n among on-care nfident in their retirement prospects. th givers ose , in whi thle e u for fi pper na -incom ncial we e gll roup, -bein g car , th eg e ivers 0% $35,000–$74,999 10% for retirees, ± 3.7 percentage points for caregiver workers, and ± 5.6 percentage points $for car 75,000 o eg r M iver retir ore ees in a about who would provide care f 19% or them if they became unwell and needed help with things like transportation, meal 17% need to work (54 percent), with the other financial tasks listed also being cited by approximately one-half of caregiving Source:com Fi Emgu plopare ye re e B e36 nd wit efit Rese h ar3 ch0 Inst pe iturce te andnt o Green f wnon ald Re- se care arch 2gi 02ve 6 Re rs tir. While ement Conf t idehes nce Se urve py. ercentages were substan 41% 43% tially below those of workers thing Figure s in pre 29, Per paring for centage retire W Inho ce nAgree tivized ment, th Y T oh uey ha t ey H o Take ave Enou ve not an E Str ao rly Ret be nggh ly A en ir S g e a avings to H rm e bl e ee n to stren t* Somean wha gtdl hen t e A an grt eheir e Em f erge inanncy Exp ces when prov ense, by idin Care g car giver egivi Sn tat g.us Source: they e Employeexp Bene efcted it Rese awh rch Ien nstitut tehey and Gfir rees nw t retire ald Researd ch V vs 2e 02 r. y 6 4 R Con e0 tirep fid mercent ee ntn C tonfid of enS ce o n m Suon e rve wha y. -care t Con gifid vers ent. FuNo rthermore, t Confident there were also sharp differences Car member; egivers* and longNon -term car -caregiver e sexpe Nnses one of ar Car the e e g hi Aiver bo gh ve s* er than they e Non-xp care ected givers when they Car fir eg siver t retire s* d compare Non-d with caregivers Source: Employee Benhealth efit Resea rich s nega Institute a tively im nd Greenwald pacte Research d by the 2026 Retire care ment Cog niving fidence , S uand rvey. 52 percent of caregiving retirees said their mental health pe rcentage rating it excellent or very good was 29 percent for caregivers vs. 43 percent for non-caregivers. Source:were Fi Em gpure loye mo e B 3, enre eAm fit l Rik eo se ely to unt arch InHel stibe tutd in Sa e anot nd G rec eonfident n vings an wald Resear ch d in ha 2I0nv 26 R est ving enou etirements ment Con, b fidgh eny ce mo Caregive Surve ney to ke y. r Stat ep us u p with ................................ inflation than no ................................ n-caregivers (38 perc... ent 9 59% S So ou ur rce ce 0% ::13 E Em mp pllo o • ye ye e e B Be en n In e effiitt the R Re ese sea a l r rch ch ower IIn nst stiittu u-tte e and a an nd d G G r rupper e ee en nw wa alld d R R-e einc se sea ar rom ch ch 2 20 0e 2 26 6gro R Re ettiir re e up m me es n ntt, c C Co on naregi ffiid de en nce ce vers S Su ur rve vey. y. were more likely to be not confident that they are 0% prepara similarlytion, o sized random sam r financial maple. nag ement (Figure 30). However, non-caregivers were more likely to have calculated how S S No o ou u te r rce ce : T:: h E E em m uTh p p nlld o oe ye ye e li r $ e e3 B B 5st of po e e ,0 n n0 e e0 ffii tti n R R co e ese se ma a e tential i r r g ch ch ro IIu n n p st st sa iittu um tte e mprovements off p a a le n n d d si z G G er r e e w e e a n ns w wta a ollo d d sm R Re ese a se lla a to r rch ch sh ered 2 2 o0 0 w 2 2 a 6 6n R R y e eas ch rtte iir rle e ia m m be le e n n roi tte C C su ces o on n ltfs. fiid de en were as f nce ce S Su ur rve vey. y. ollows: better explanations for how much income your expect workers in. g to work for pay, the higher likelihood of caregiving retirees actually working for pay after they retired could Source 0% : Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. Source: Employee Beneand fit Rese Iancom rch Instite ut e................................ and Greenwald Research 2026 Retir................................ ement Confidence Survey. .......................................................................... 25 for health retired care or non dental -caregi exp vers enses . (51 percent compared with 36 percent), and, unsurprisingly, for spending to support is negatively impacted. Care T giver he smost impacted financial tasks among caregiving worker Non-cas re wer givere s saving for Caregivers $35,000–$74,999 Non-careg$ iver 75,0 s 00 or More vs. 27 percent)L . e ss Than $35,000 Source: Employee Bendoin efit Reg se/ adi rchd In a go stitute aod nd Gjo reeb nw of ald Rpre esearp charing financial 2026 Retirement Confl idy for ence Suth rveeir y. retirement than non-caregivers. S S So o ou u ur rrce ce ce::: E E Em m mp p plllo o oye ye yee e e B B Be e en n ne e efffiiittt R R Re e ese se sea a ar rrch ch ch IIIn n nst st stiiitttu u uttte e e a a an n nd d d G G Gr rre e ee e en n n Car w w wa a allld d d e R R R ge e e iver se se sea a ar rrs ch ch ch 2 2 20 0 02 2 26 6 6 R R Re e etttiiir rre e em m me e en n nttt C C Co o on n nfffiiid d de e en n nce ce ce S S Su u ur rrve ve vey. y. y. Non-Caregivers much mon • In ey t thehey w upper t ould li wo incom kely ne gr eed oups, non to cover h-e car alth egex iver pe e nses mpl i oy n ed retire workers ment we thare n car moeg re l ivers ikely . to say that they were Caregive savings wi rs ll f produce in retirement ace many issues when ; inv provid estmen ing t or i carnsu e, iran nclu ce diopt ng a io n ns th egativ at provide e impact on guaran th te eir edme lifetime income ntal health an af d bei ter you r ng less etire; Source: Fi be Emg p ure ldu oyeee B to t 4, eneDeb fit he differe Rese ta Level a Pro rch Institunt reaso te and Grblem eenw ns they r ald, b Rese y Care arch etire 202giv 6 Rd eer Status ti. r eIn particu ment Confid e................................ ncelar, Surve care y. givers were ................................ more likely to report that ................................ wanting money to 9 or help a family member (27 percent vs. 13 percent). Very Confident Somewhat Confident Not Confident emergencies (56 percent) and working the hours they want or need to work (54 percent). Please note percentages in the figures may not total to 100 percent due to rounding and/or missing categories. Source:Fi Em gpure loyee B 30 ene,f itPre Reseparing arch Institufor te andVari Greenous wald Aspects Research 202 of 6 Re R tireetir ment ement, Confidence by Surve Caregiver y. Status ............................................................ 25 offered a retirement savings plan at work than their caregiver counterparts. more fund or investment options available/increased choice; better explanations for whether you are on track with your Source:likely Employeto e Behave nefit Rese confidence arch Institute and i Gn re etheir nwald Rr ese etirem arch 202e 6 nt p Retirem ros ent C poects nfiden. ceEm Surve pl y.oyers have opportunities to differentiate themselves and Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey. ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org ebri.org Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Iss s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s sue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue B ue Bri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri ri rief ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef ef • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J Jul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul ul uly y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 , 2026 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 661 12 17 27 19 38 32 37 10 35 18 25 15 20 40 21 23 36 11 14 22 39 41 26 29 24 13 16 34 31 28 33 30 42 6 9 8 4 2 7 3 5 A research report from the EBRI Education and Research Fund © 2026 Employee Benefit Research Institute Non-Caregivers Caregivers Non-Caregivers Caregivers

Volume 661

Pages 42

EBRI Issue Brief

July 22, 2026

Craig Copeland

Lisa Greenwald

Retirement