Family Caregivers Spend $11,508 a Year — and Employers Pay Too

Family caregivers spent an average of $11,508 out of pocket in the past year — roughly 31% of household income — according to an AARP study published October 28, 2026. For households earning under $40,000, the figure climbs to 76% of income. Behind those receipts stands a workforce problem: 65% of working caregivers experienced at least one employment-related disruption tied to their caregiving, from reduced hours to leaving the labor force entirely.

For HR leaders, the numbers reframe an old assumption. Caregiving is not a private family matter that stays at home. It is a measurable driver of schedule changes, declined promotions and attrition — and the population involved is enormous. AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving estimated in their 2025 Caregiving in the U.S. report that approximately 63 million Americans provide care to an adult or child with significant needs.

A note on methodology: that estimate and the BLS figures come from different definitions and surveys, so treat them as complementary rather than interchangeable federal statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks unpaid care through its American Time Use Survey, which documents how Americans spend their hours on household and care work.

What exactly are caregivers buying?

The spending pattern matters for anyone designing caregiver benefits, because it is not mostly about prescriptions.

• Housing and household expenses: 42% of out-of-pocket spending, averaging $4,797 a year — groceries, household support, insurance premiums.
• Medical expenses: 29%, averaging $3,313 — copayments and direct medical payments.

Families who budget only for doctor visits underestimate the total. Employers who assume medical costs are the pain point misunderstand it too.

How expensive is the career disruption?

AARP's research, alongside U.S. Department of Labor analysis, sketches the compounding effect. A hypothetical worker earning $60,000 who cuts their schedule by 20% to care for a parent loses about $12,000 a year — $60,000 over five years before taxes, assuming constant pay and hours. Add reduced retirement contributions and smaller employer matches, and the long-term damage exceeds the direct wage loss. The example is illustrative, not a national average.

The Department of Labor's Women's Bureau has examined this intersection particularly for women, who often provide years of care for children, parents or spouses while holding paid jobs. Career interruptions reduce lifetime earnings and retirement asset accumulation. The burden, however, is not exclusively female; families benefit when responsibilities follow time and resources rather than gender assumptions.

Why the benefits gap surprises employees

Many caregivers discover late that Medicare generally does not pay for ongoing custodial care — assistance with daily activities — when that is the only service needed, per official Medicare long-term care guidance. Medicaid may cover qualifying long-term services, but eligibility varies by state. That coverage gap is where workplace policy either absorbs the shock or doesn't.

Existing supports are thinner than employees expect:

• The Family and Medical Leave Act offers protected leave, but qualifying leave is generally unpaid.
• The Eldercare Locator connects families to local aging services, transportation and meal assistance.
• Medicaid home- and community-based services may help qualifying individuals avoid nursing facilities.

What HR should take from the data

A workforce where 65% of caregivers report work disruption is a workforce with a retention and productivity exposure hiding in plain sight. Caregiver-friendly scheduling, leave design that accounts for unpaid FMLA gaps, and retirement-benefit flexibility all touch the exact margins AARP measured: hours, promotions and match contributions.

The full cost of caregiving includes money never earned. As the 63-million-person caregiving population grows with the aging population, expect the data — and employee expectations — to keep tightening the case for employers to act.