Congress·In Committee·S. 4291

Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026

Retirement Savings: Extra Contributions for Family Caregivers

3 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Part of: Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026

The Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was introduced in the Senate and has been sent to the Committee on Finance for review. No further actions or hearings are scheduled at this time.

Part of: story →Companion bill: Reps. Pettersen and Salazar Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Help Family Caregivers Save More for Retirement →

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Could go either way

The bill has strong bipartisan support from senior senators, but major changes to the tax code usually take a long time to move through Congress.

Key Points

This bill lets people who take time off work to care for family members put extra money into their retirement accounts. Usually, only people 50 or older can make these extra catch-up payments, but this would let caregivers do it at any age.
To qualify, a person must spend at least 500 hours a year providing unpaid care for a child, an elderly relative, or an adult with special needs. They must also work fewer than 500 hours at a paid job during that same year.
The policy covers many types of help, including bathing, cooking, cleaning, and driving family members to appointments. Caregivers can use this special tax rule for up to five years total.
This plan aims to help people whose retirement savings fall behind because they left the workforce to help loved ones. If passed, the new rules would start for the 2027 tax year.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

3 milestones3 actions

Apr 14, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Apr 14, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1741-1742)

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026

Bill NumberS 4291

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1741-1742)

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

D: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.