The financial strain of caring for aging relatives has become a campaign issue heading into the 2026 midterm elections, according to a new AARP poll.
The survey research by the seniors and retirees advocacy group found that most voters 50 and older in the country’s tightest House races favor candidates who back support for unpaid family caregivers.
Among likely voters age 50-plus in 43 competitive congressional districts, 77% said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who advocated a tax credit for unpaid family caregivers who help pay for a loved one’s care. Another 75% said the same about a candidate who supports caregivers helping relatives stay in their own homes. Half of voters in that age group are current or former family caregivers, AARP said.
Two polling firms ran the survey for AARP from Oct. 1 to 5: Fabrizio Ward, which works with Republicans, and Impact Research, which works with Democrats. They interviewed 1,368 likely voters, including 848 age 50 and older, in districts the Cook Political Report rated as toss-ups or leaning toward either party.
Older voters appear more likely to turn out on Nov. 3. Some 83% of voters 50-plus in those districts described themselves as extremely motivated to vote, compared with 66% of voters under 50.
Voters ages 50 and above “are going to be the deciders in the election,” Matt Hogan, a partner at Impact Research, told CNBC. “So for candidates looking to win over this critical voting bloc, a focus on helping caregivers would go a long way in helping them make inroads.”
The poll comes as new research puts a dollar figure on what families are absorbing. A new Edward Jones study on financial caregivers found that more than 32 million Americans help manage or pay for the finances of adults 65 and older. Among the 84% who are not fully reimbursed, out-of-pocket spending averages $8,737 a year. Across that group, the total comes to $235 billion annually.
Nearly half of financial caregivers, 49%, said they had made personal financial sacrifices. Within that group, 38% stopped or reduced saving, 20% tapped retirement accounts and 18% cut or paused retirement contributions. Another 12% contributed less to, or borrowed from, a child’s 529 education savings plan.
Broader data point the same way. According to a 2025 report by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, 63 million American adults provide ongoing care to a relative or friend with a medical condition or disability, up 45% since 2015. Of those caregivers, 47% reported at least one negative financial effect. Some 31% had stopped saving, 13% had drawn down long-term savings such as retirement or education accounts, and 9% had delayed retirement or decided never to retire.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey also found that unpaid caregivers face steeper financial hurdles in retirement. Of caregivers, 34% reported less than $10,000 in savings and investments, compared with 25% of non-caregivers. And 69% of caregivers called debt a problem, compared with 57% of non-caregivers.
Support for tax relief holds up across surveys. In the AARP-National Alliance for Caregiving research, 69% of caregivers said an income tax credit would help, 68% favored direct payment programs and 55% favored partially paid leave. Among higher-income caregivers, 71% favored tax credits, while the same share of lower-income caregivers preferred direct payments.
The Edward Jones report also cites Pew Research Center data on public support:
Most Americans also favor Medicare covering long-term care costs, the report noted, though a majority mistakenly believe it already does.
On one front, federal policy is moving the other way. Some Medicaid cuts in the tax-and-spending package President Donald Trump signed in 2025 take effect in January. Keesha Middlemass, a political science professor at Howard University, said those cuts would leave unpaid family caregivers facing greater financial challenges.
“The future cuts, actually, that are going to come to Medicaid and Medicare in 2027 are going to be devastating for those in the lower incomes, but also workers that are in the care economy,” Middlemass told CNBC.
According to the report by Edward Jones, half of financial caregivers work with a financial advisor, and 44% of those said they hired one because of their caregiving responsibilities. Among caregivers ages 18 to 39, that share rises to 74%.
Still, few families plan ahead. Only about a third of financial caregiving arrangements were discussed in advance, and just 22% of caregivers said they felt extremely prepared when the role began. Employed caregivers ranked financial benefits such as paid leave as the most useful employer support (38%). Flexible hours and other time-related benefits came second at 30%.
summed up the stakes in the Edward Jones report: “Left unattended, the costs of care threaten to impoverish not just families but entire nations,” said Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Engines, and founding head of the Rowan University School of Financial Planning, said in the report.
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