Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026

The "Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026" proposes to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, enabling certain family caregivers to make additional catch-up contributions to their retirement savings plans. The legislation introduces the concept of a "qualified family caregiver," defined as an individual who provides 500 or more hours of unpaid care during a taxable year while simultaneously working fewer than 500 hours in paid employment.

This special status for making additional contributions is limited to a maximum of five taxable years, or one taxable year for each year the caregiving criteria are met. A "family caregiver" encompasses unpaid family members, foster parents, or other adults who are unemployed or severely underemployed and provide in-home care, monitoring, or supervision for a child or an adult with special needs, including elderly individuals. These caregiving tasks include assistance with daily living activities like bathing, dressing, meal preparation, and managing medications. Qualified family caregivers will be treated similarly to individuals aged 60-63 for the purpose of making these enhanced catch-up contributions to applicable employer plans and IRAs, with the changes applying to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.