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Caregiving responsibilities are eroding retirement savings for millions
AARP says unpaid caregiving reached 63 million Americans, up from 53 million in 2020, and research links caregiving to earlier-than-planned retirement.
Yahoo Finance highlights how long-term caregiving can undermine retirement security, using the example of Brian and Rose Armstrong, 66-year-old residents of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, who retired two years ago after a decade of full-time care for their grandson, now 11.
The article cites AARP research showing 63 million Americans, nearly 1 in 4 adults, provide unpaid care to an adult with health or functional needs, or to a child with a serious medical condition or disability. That total is up from 53 million in 2020, and the piece frames caregiving as a retirement-savings risk that can last for decades.
According to findings discussed by Yahoo Finance, caregiving can take time away from work, which can slow or prevent people from building retirement savings, and it can also increase the likelihood of retiring earlier than expected even if savings were previously on track. The article also notes three major reasons retirees leave the workforce earlier than planned, their own health, job loss, or caregiving for a family member.
Yahoo Finance further points to gender and workforce patterns, stating that women face additional retirement pressures because they live longer and need more income, while caregiving responsibilities can contribute to saving less.