2026 EBRI/Greenwald Retirement Confidence Survey analysis finds caregivers are more likely than non-caregivers to report lower assets, debt problems, mental health strain and concern about retirement
Vermont Business Magazine New research published July 22 by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research finds that unpaid caregivers face greater financial strain, lower retirement confidence and more concern about future retirement risks than Americans who are not unpaid caregivers.
The new research report, “Caregivers and Retirement: Findings From the 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey,” finds that nearly 3 in 10 Americans age 25 or older are unpaid caregivers, and that caregiving is associated with financial, workplace, health and retirement-planning challenges. The report compares the retirement prospects, financial attitudes, retirement preparations and retirement experiences of unpaid caregivers with those of non-caregivers.
The analysis is based on the 2026 EBRI/Greenwald Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), which was conducted for its 36th year to measure Americans’ attitudes toward, preparations for and understanding of retirement. Caregivers in the report are defined as those who provided unpaid care for an adult or child within the last 12 months in a noninstitutional setting and helped the care recipient with at least one activity of daily living or instrumental activity of daily living.
“Caregiving is often discussed as a family, health or workplace issue, but this research shows it is also an important retirement security issue,” said Craig Copeland, director, Wealth Benefits Research, EBRI. “Caregivers are doing many of the same planning activities as non-caregivers, but they are more likely to face debt, lower assets, mental health strain and lower confidence about their long-term financial future. That combination can make it much harder to build and preserve retirement security.”
“Caregiving creates financial, health and social-emotional pressure at different life stages and ages — while people are working, as they prepare for retirement and after they retire. That pressure impacts work,” said Lisa Greenwald, CEO, Greenwald Research. “For employers, this is an opportunity to better understand the realities facing employee caregivers and to consider benefits, workplace flexibility, leave, education and support that can help workers remain productive, financially well and better equipped to manage caregiving responsibilities while also saving for retirement.”
Key findings in the report include:
• Caregivers are less likely than non-caregivers to report excellent or very good health and to have household income of $75,000 or more. Thirty-six percent of caregivers say their health status is excellent or very good, compared with 45% of non-caregivers. Fifty-three percent of caregivers have household incomes of $75,000 or more, compared with 62% of non-caregivers. Caregivers also are more likely to be female, at 61% compared with 47% of non-caregivers.
• Caregivers are more likely to have lower financial assets and to report debt problems. Thirty-four percent of caregivers have less than $10,000 in savings and investments, compared with 25% of non-caregivers. At the same time, 69% of caregivers say debt is a problem, compared with 57% of non-caregivers.
• Many caregivers provide direct financial support to care recipients or take on additional debt because of caregiving. Thirty-four percent of caregiving workers and 20% of caregiving retirees report providing financial support to their care recipient. In addition, 20% of caregiving workers and 15% of caregiving retirees have taken on new or additional debt as a result of being a caregiver.
• Caregiving is more likely to negatively affect mental health than specific financial tasks, but financial tasks are still affected. Sixty-four percent of caregiving workers and 52% of caregiving retirees say caregiving has had a negative impact on their mental health. Among caregiving workers, the financial tasks most likely to be affected are saving for emergencies, at 56%, and working the hours they want or need to work, at 54%.
• Caregivers in lower- and upper-income groups are more likely than non-caregivers with the same incomes to lack confidence in their retirement prospects. Among those with household income of less than $35,000, 75% of caregivers are not confident they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement, compared with 55% of non-caregivers. Among those with household income of $75,000 or more, 32% of caregivers are not confident, compared with 23% of non-caregivers.
• Caregivers are more likely than non-caregivers to be concerned about major risks that could affect retirement. These include significant changes to the American retirement system, an economic recession, rising housing costs and having to provide care for a loved one with a health condition or disability.
• Upper-income caregivers are less likely than non-caregivers with the same incomes to have completed several financial retirement preparation tasks. These include calculating how much they need to save for retirement, having ever saved for retirement, planning how to cover an emergency expense in retirement and calculating how much they would need to cover health expenses in retirement. However, caregivers are just as likely as non-caregivers to have completed various nonfinancial retirement preparation tasks.
• Caregiver retirees are more likely than non-caregiver retirees to have retired earlier than planned. Fifty-six percent of caregiver retirees retired earlier than planned, compared with 44% of non-caregiver retirees. Caregivers were more likely to retire earlier than planned because they had to care for a spouse or another family member.
• Caregiving retirees report more challenging retirement experiences. Caregiving retirees are more likely than non-caregiving retirees to rate their current lifestyle in retirement as fair, while non-caregivers are more likely to rate it as excellent. Caregiving retirees also are more likely to say their retirement lifestyle is not what they envisioned and that several retirement expenses are higher than expected.
The report also finds that caregivers and non-caregivers who are offered a workplace retirement savings plan cite similar plan improvements as most valuable. These include investment or insurance options that provide guaranteed lifetime income after retirement, more fund or investment options, better explanations for whether workers are on track with retirement savings and more investment options designed for after retirement.
The 2026 RCS was fielded online Jan. 2-28, 2026, with a total sample of 2,544 Americans age 25 or older. The survey included a general population sample of 2,052 Americans, including 1,007 workers and 1,045 retirees, plus an oversample of 492 caregiver respondents. In total, the analysis included 701 caregiver workers and 305 caregiver retirees across the two samples. The preferred survey citation is “2026 Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research Retirement Confidence Survey.”
The research concludes that while caregivers are often taking many of the right steps to prepare for retirement, caregiving responsibilities can make it harder to strengthen their finances. The findings also point to opportunities for employers and benefits partners to support employee caregivers through scheduling flexibility, remote work options, caregiving resources and education, and benefits that can help reduce caregiving-related financial strain.
The results from this survey and other caregiving-focused research are part of a caregiving project that will develop, highlight and disseminate educational resources that employers can use to help employee caregivers become better prepared for retirement and improve their overall well-being.
The 2026 survey was made possible with support from Bank of America, Bright Horizons, Capital Group/American Funds, CareScout, Edward Jones, Empower, Fidelity Investments, FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Jackson National, JPMorganChase, Mercer, Nationwide, Principal Financial Group, Protective Life Corporation, PGIM/Prudential Financial, T. Rowe Price, The American College of Financial Services and Voya Financial.
Greenwald Research is a leading research consulting firm that has specialized in retirement, employee benefits and health care for over 40 years. For more information, visit www.greenwaldresearch.com.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute is a nonprofit, independent, unbiased resource organization that provides authoritative, objective information about critical issues related to employee benefit programs in the United States. For more information, visit www.ebri.org.