Reps. Pettersen and Salazar Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Help Family Caregivers Save More for Retirement
This bill was recently introduced and is currently being reviewed by the House Committee on Ways and Means. It is in the early stages of the legislative process and is considered active. There are no upcoming votes or hearings scheduled at this time.
Part of: story →Companion bill: Retirement Savings: Extra Contributions for Family Caregivers →The bill has support from both Democrats and Republicans, but it still needs to go through the main tax committee where many bills get stuck.
Self-employed individuals who significantly reduce their work hours to provide family care could qualify for the enhanced catch-up contributions. The bill explicitly includes self-employment in its definition of paid work, meaning a small business owner who scales back to under 500 hours of paid work while caregiving 500+ hours could benefit.
“has completed fewer than 500 hours of paid employment (including self-employment).”
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Recent legislation like the Catching Up Family Caregivers Act seeks to address the shortfall in retirement saving created by periods spent out of the workforce. The bill would allow non-earning caregivers to make extra catch-up contributions once they return to work.
During a Senate hearing, experts praised bipartisan bills led by Senators Susan Collins and Mark Warner to allow non-earning caregivers to make extra catch-up contributions once they return to work, addressing the loss of retirement accruals for those who step out of the workforce.
The Catching Up Family Caregivers Act would allow family caregivers to make catch-up contributions to a retirement account for up to five years, building on the success of SECURE 2.0 to provide critical resources for those balancing caregiving and financial planning.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026
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