Spousal caregivers had lower levels of retirement assets and less income than married noncaregivers. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Family caregivers' retirement is at risk if they must cut their working hours or pay for caregiving expenses in providing care to elderly parents or spouses.

That's according to GAO-19-382, “Retirement Security: Some Parental and Spousal Caregivers Face Financial Risks,” which finds that Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate that an estimated tenth of Americans provided care to a parent or spouse for some period of time from 2011 through 2017, with women and minority caregivers being the most likely to be the ones providing care.

In addition, those providing such care were older than the general population, with spousal caregivers being the oldest, and some of those providing care ended up with less in retirement assets and income than those who did not.

They also had to curtail work to provide care, and that penalized them in the workplace.

The report cited a 2015 caregiving-specific study that found for an estimated 68 percent of working parental and spousal caregivers, offering care took a toll on their jobs; they ended up going to work late, leaving early, or taking time off during the day to provide care.

Spousal caregivers suffered more in this arena than parental caregivers, at 81 percent compared with 65 percent.

And that played out in the money field, too, with data from 2002–2014 from the Health and Retirement Study indicating that spousal caregivers ages 59–66 had lower levels of retirement assets and less income than married noncaregivers of the same ages.

Specifically, the report found, spousal caregivers had an estimated 50 percent less in individual retirement account assets; 39 percent less in non-IRA assets; and 11 percent less in Social Security income.

However, it added, “caregiving may not be the cause of these results as there are challenges to isolating the effect of caregiving from other factors that could affect retirement assets and income.”

There are actions that can improve the financial situation of caregivers. The report suggests four policy changes that could make a difference, as well as public awareness initiatives that could help people understand what they're letting themselves in for financially by providing care.

The policies that could help caregivers were steps to cut their out-of-pocket expenses; increase their attachment to the workforce while preserving their wages; increase their access and/or contributions to retirement accounts; and increase their Social Security benefits.