Family Support Outweighs Retirement Planning for Caregivers
Americans take their roles as caregivers seriously, with many choosing to provide support to their loved ones before caring for themselves.
The findings, from Alliance for Lifetime Income’s second chapter of its 2025 Protected Retirement Income and Planning (PRIP) Study, shows that people feel an increasing obligation to care and provide support for their friends and family before considering their own financial and wellness needs.
Of the 17% who support adult children, 10% who care for grandchildren, 7% who support parents or in-laws, and 9% who help other family members, over half say the level of care they give negatively impacts their retirement savings.
Most respondents are unwilling to reduce or stop financially supporting their loved ones and would rather adopt a lower standard of living (58%), return to work (54%), give up hobbies and personal interests (39%), live in a less desirable area or home (28%), and delay taking care of home or auto repairs (25%). Others would be willing to move in with friends and family to save money (22%) and stop medical care and treatments (21%).
Jean Chatzky, an education fellow with the Retirement Income Institute and CEO of HerMoney, urges financial advisors to prioritize conversations about caregiving support when crafting a retirement plan for clients.
“Caregiving and financial commitments to family should always be a part of the retirement planning conversation because it’s clear people feel very strongly about keeping these promises regardless of the cost to themselves,” Chatzky said.
This is especially true for Gen Xers—as the oldest in this generation turn 60 this year. Even as they near retirement, 37% of participants in the study said they anticipate delaying retirement, and only 41% feel confident that their savings will last them through. Nearly one-third (33%), have discussed caregiving needs for family and friends with a financial advisor.
“This is the first generation where the overwhelming majority won’t have a pension to rely on for retirement income and that means retirement planning is even more challenging for them,” said Jason Fichtner, executive director of the Retirement Income Institute. “I think that most Gen-Xers will begin turning to financial professionals for retirement planning help at a higher rate than Baby Boomers ever did, which is good news.”
As Gen Xers expect to rely less on Social Security (at 44% compared to 62% for Boomers), the research touches on potential benefits in offering annuity options to this group.
A separate study by Global Atlantic Financial Group found that 76% of Gen Xers and Boomers surveyed had discussed lifetime income benefits beyond Social Security with a financial professional.
Interest in lifetime income options has gradually grown, even as plan sponsors and participants remained skeptical of the products. According to Alliance for Lifetime Income’s study, 50% of advisors reported adding more client investments into annuities. Total annuity sales in the U.S. rose to a record high of $119.5 billion in the second quarter of 2025, reported additional findings from LIMRA.
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) move in August to keep a long-standing safe harbor that had impacted annuities in workplace plans could lead more employers to offer the guaranteed income options, experts say.
“Congress has made it easier for companies to offer annuity options as part of their retirement benefits, and more companies will be doing that just as Gen-Xers head toward the home stretch of their working lives,” added Fichtner.
Additional details from Alliance for Lifetime Income’s research can be found here.
Amanda Umpierrez is the Managing Editor of 401(k) Specialist magazine. She is a financial services reporter with nearly a decade of experience and a passion for telling stories and reporting news. She is originally from Queens, New York, but now resides in Denver, Colorado.
