Caregivers Spend $11,500 Annually

Individuals providing unpaid care to aging parents or other loved ones are spending an average of more than $11,500 annually on out-of-pocket expenses, a 60% increase from levels recorded in 2021. This surge in financial burden was identified in a new survey conducted by AARP. The research examined spending habits across a wide demographic of family caregivers.

The financial strain is particularly acute for households with lower incomes. Among respondents earning less than $40,000 per year, caregiving costs consume more than 75% of their annual earnings. AARP gathered these insights from a survey of more than 2,500 adults who reported caring for a relative or friend during June and July of this year.

Wendy Mayo, 44, resides in Connecticut and shares the responsibility of caring for her mother, who has Alzheimer's disease and requires constant supervision. Her family covers the cost of a professional caregiver, her mother's rent, and necessary home modifications. "We pay her rent and bought stuff to prevent bedsores, plus bed alarms because she was getting out of bed and wandering around," Mayo said. "So we also invested in cameras to watch her, and all those things add up when you're a caregiver." She estimates her personal annual expenditure at $15,000, while the combined total for her siblings and herself reaches $45,000.

Mayo noted that the role was unexpected. "It's a role you're thrust into. It's not like retirement, which we plan for," she explained. The expenses have forced her to reduce her own retirement savings. AARP data indicates that housing and household expenses are the largest cost category, averaging nearly $4,800 per year. This includes rent, mortgage payments, property taxes, and food. Healthcare expenses, such as insurance premiums and copayments, represent the second-largest cost.

Megan O'Reilly, AARP's vice president of government affairs for health and family, stated that these expenditures threaten long-term financial stability. "The financial outputs they provide for their loved one have implications for their own retirement security," she said. The impact extends to professional lives, as nearly two-thirds of working caregivers reported that their duties affected their employment. Some increased hours to cover costs, while others reduced schedules or quit jobs entirely.

The survey also highlighted the challenges faced by the sandwich generation, who support aging parents while raising children. O'Reilly pointed out that caregivers invest unpaid hours in managing medical logistics, such as finding providers and driving to appointments. The next phase of the study will analyze regional variations in these costs across different states.

The data confirms that the economic weight of family caregiving continues to climb. The most expensive categories remain housing and medical supplies. AARP plans to release further details on how public policy changes might influence these private expenses in the coming months.