Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026

Susan M. Collins

Republican · ME · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

• Mark R. Warner (D-VA)Original· 2026-04-14

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

2026-04-14

Source: Congress.gov

This bill would let family caregivers save more money for retirement by allowing them to contribute extra amounts to retirement accounts beyond the normal limits, recognizing that caregiving responsibilities may have reduced their earning years. The change would apply to people who take time out of the workforce or work part-time to care for family members, helping them catch up on retirement savings they missed during those caregiving years. This would primarily benefit middle-income families where one person steps back from work to provide care for children, elderly parents, or disabled relatives.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4291 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4291 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow additional catch-up contributions for certain family caregivers. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 14, 2026 Ms. Collins (for herself and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow additional catch-up contributions for certain family caregivers. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Catching Up Family Caregivers Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL CATCH-UP CONTRIBUTIONS FOR CERTAIN FAMILY CAREGIVERS. (a) In General.--Subparagraph (A) of section 414(v)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended-- (1) by striking ``who would'' and inserting ``who-- ``(i) would'', (2) by adding ``or'' at the end, and (3) by adding at the end the following new clause: ``(ii) is a qualified family caregiver for the taxable year,''. (b) Qualified Family Caregiver.--Paragraph (6) of section 414(v) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs: ``(D) Qualified family caregiver.-- ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), the term `qualified family caregiver' means an individual who-- ``(I) has completed 500 or more hours as a family caregiver during the taxable year or any 1 previous taxable year, and ``(II) during the same taxable year, has completed fewer than 500 hours of paid employment (including self-employment). ``(ii) Limitation.--An individual shall be treated as a qualified family caregiver for not more than a total of, consecutively or nonconsecutively, the lesser of-- ``(I) 1 taxable year for each taxable year during which such individual met the requirements of subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (i), or ``(II) 5 taxable years. ``(iii) Family caregiver.--The term `family caregiver' means an unpaid family member, a foster parent, or another unpaid adult, who is unemployed or severely underemployed (as determined by the Secretary) and who provides in-home care, monitoring, management, supervision, or treatment of-- ``(I) a child, or ``(II) an adult with a special need (as defined in section 2901 of the Public Health Service Act), including an elderly adult who requires care or supervision due to an age-related condition. ``(iv) Hours.--An individual shall be treated as serving as a family caregiver during the hours in which the individual is engaged in caregiving tasks including assistance with bathing or grooming, dressing, laundry, food shopping or preparation, housekeeping, managing medications, transportation, and mobility assistance. ``(v) Plan reliance on self- certification.--An applicable employer plan is entitled to rely on the written representation of an individual that the individual was a qualified family caregiver for a taxable year. ``(E) Applicable dollar amount for qualified family caregivers.--An individual who is an eligible participant for the taxable year by reason of being a qualified family caregiver shall be treated for purposes of paragraph (2) in the same manner as an eligible participant who would attain age 60 but would not attain age 64 before the close of the taxable year.''. (c) IRA Catch-Up Contributions.--Clause (i) of section 219(b)(5)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``who has attained the age of 50 before the close of the taxable year, the deductible amount'' and inserting ``who-- ``(I) has attained the age of 50 before the close of the taxable year, or ``(II) is a qualified…

family caregiver (as defined in section 414(v)(6)(D)) for the taxable year, the deductible amount''. (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026. <all>

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