Caregivers' financial stress hit 42.8% in 2026, up 10 points

Family caregivers now spend an average of $11,508 a year out of pocket, a 59% jump since 2021, according to AARP data released in October 2026. New survey numbers from Financial Finesse show what that cost pressure is doing inside the workplace: 42.8% of employees caring for elderly parents or other family members reported high or overwhelming financial stress in 2026, up from 32.8% in 2024.

The 10-point climb in two years makes caregivers the most financially stressed group in the workforce data, drawn from 134,144 U.S. employee survey responses collected between 2024 and 2026. The findings also carry a clear people-process implication: this same cohort shows the strongest recovery when employers intervene early with financial guidance.

Financial Finesse, which reaches millions of employees across more than 20,000 organizations, compared stress levels across four groups: caregivers for elderly parents or other family members, the sandwich generation caring for both children and parents, employees caring for children only, and employees with no dependents.

How does stress compare across groups?

• Sandwich-generation employees — caring for kids and parents at once — climbed from 33.5% high or overwhelming stress in 2024 to 41.5% in 2026.
• Employees with no dependents reported 28.8% in 2026, the lowest of any group.
• Stress rose in every group, but caregivers started higher and climbed further.

The 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey from EBRI and Greenwald Research confirms the pattern with harder workforce outcomes. Among caregiving workers, 19% reduced retirement contributions because of caregiving, 20% took on new debt, and 24% borrowed from family or friends. Among retirees, 56% of caregivers stopped working earlier than planned, compared with 44% of other retirees — an early-exit gap HR leaders planning retention and knowledge-transfer strategies should note.

Does higher income protect caregivers?

No. Caregiving strain cuts across pay levels, the EBRI/Greenwald survey found. Among workers earning $75,000 or more, 32% of caregivers lacked confidence in a comfortable retirement versus 23% of non-caregivers at the same income. Among those earning under $35,000, the gap widened to 75% versus 55% — a 20-point divide.

"The call rarely starts with 'I'm a caregiver.' It starts with 'I stopped my 401(k) contributions and I feel sick about it,' or 'I don't know how to talk to my siblings about money for Mom,'" said Scott Stark, CFP, Think Tank Director and Financial Coach at Financial Finesse. "These are often people who are good with money. They just never planned for this."

Which group bounced back best?

The Financial Finesse data delivers the report's most actionable finding. Among employees caring for elderly parents or other family members who started with high or overwhelming stress and worked with their employer's financial wellness program between 2021 and 2025, 65% moved to some or no stress. That was the highest improvement rate of any group, ahead of the 61% recorded for employees with no dependents.

"When caregivers get help identifying their next steps — protecting their 401(k) match, building an emergency fund or understanding what Medicare covers for Mom — their stress eases," said Liz Davidson, who founded Financial Finesse in 1999. "This isn't a budgeting problem. It's a slow-moving family emergency that calls on employers to be there when real life happens."

Demand for that help is unevenly met. In the EBRI/Greenwald survey, caregivers were more likely than other workers to rely on family, friends and their own online research for retirement planning. Among workers offered a retirement plan, personalized financial guidance was the only one of the six most-valued plan improvements that caregivers cited more often than non-caregivers.

What can employers do now?

Most employers have not closed the gap. In EBRI's 2025 employer survey, 38% offered elder care services and 37% offered caregiving education, though nearly half planned to add each. Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of working caregivers report at least one significant change to their work life because of caregiving, such as taking time off or changing their hours, according to AARP's new study.

Financial Finesse recommends reaching caregivers at the moments the responsibility first appears:

• Medicare open enrollment, running through Dec. 7, a natural moment to reach employees helping a parent choose coverage.
• Life-event changes, such as a new dependent on a W-4 or benefits form, or a request for leave or a flexible schedule.

"Our data shows financial wellness programs work for caregivers as well as for anyone," Stark said. "What employers control is timing. For example, help that shows up when someone first adds a parent to their benefits. Wait a year, and the strain has had a year to compound."

The full report, The Caregiver Squeeze, is available on Financial Finesse's website. With out-of-pocket caregiving costs outpacing inflation and stress measures climbing in every employee segment, employers that time their wellness outreach to life events rather than calendar campaigns stand the best chance of keeping this growing cohort productive and retired on schedule.