Retirement Confidence of Caregivers

Marie Ammar and Sara Rubinstein

Summary

Consumer confidence in having enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement has significantly dropped this year and returned to levels last seen in 2018. The last time we saw a decline in confidence of this magnitude was in 2008 during the global financial crisis. And while workers and retirees alike are feeling this downward shift in confidence, some consumers are experiencing it more than others, namely caregivers. The results from the 2023 Retirement Confidence Survey, conducted with the Employee Benefits Research Institute, show that unfortunately only six in ten caregivers are confident in their financial security during retirement compared to 68% of non-caregivers.

What could be contributing to caregivers’ extreme lack of confidence? The answer might seem a little obvious: money. Caregivers tend to have more expenses than non-caregivers due to their caregiving responsibilities. Half of caregivers provide financial support to their care recipient, with nearly a third of them providing $5,000 to $14,999 in the past year. Caregivers, even those working, experience financial strain from providing care. Data from National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and AARP’s Caregiving in the U.S. 2020, conducted by Greenwald, tells us that six in ten working caregivers feel at least some level of financial strain, including two in ten who rated their strain a 4 or 5 out of 5.