It’s now time for Congress to give tax credits to America’s caregivers

Published in RINewsToday on February 24, 2025

Just a few days after the 119^th Congress was sworn in on Friday, January 3rd, AARP, along with 94 organizations, sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to enact legislation to provide financial relief for America’s caregivers. This could be accomplished by including the bipartisan bicameral Credit for Caring Act of 2024 (S. 3702/H.R. 7165 introduced in the 118^th Congress) in any tax legislation that is advanced during the new Congress, says the joint letter.

S. 3702/H.R. 7165, introduced during the last session of Congress by Sen. Michael Bennett (D-Colorado) and House lawmakers Mike Carey (D-Ohio), would allow an eligible caregiver a tax credit of up to $5,000 for 30% of the cost of long-term care expenses that exceed $2,000 in a taxable year. The bills defined eligible caregiver as an individual who has earned income for the taxable year in excess of $7,500 and pays or incurs expenses for providing care to a spouse or other dependent relative with long-term care needs.

The joint letter, dated Jan. 7, 2025, stressed that family caregivers make it possible for older adults, people with disabilities, and veterans, to live independently in their community and age in place at home. It also cited an AARP study that found caregivers provided $600 billion annually in unpaid labor in 2021 to care for their loved ones. (This figure is based on about 38 million caregivers providing an average of 18 hours of care per week for a total of 36 billion hours of care, at an average value of $16.59 per hour).

Caregivers take a hefty financial hit, too, having to cover out-of-pocket expenses associated with caregiving and losing income by cutting back on work hours or leaving the workforce entirely. When this occurs these individuals would see reduced Social Security and retirement savings by receiving reduced Social Security and other retirement benefits, noted the organizations in the correspondence.

The joint letter also mentioned an AARP study that reported family caregivers spend on average, 26 percent of their income on caregiving expenses or over $7,200 annually. The uncompensated care saves taxes payers billions of dollars by delaying or even preventing admission to costly nursing home care and unnecessary hospital stays.

The joint letter suggested that any tax legislation consider include a new, non-refundable tax credit of up to $ 5,000 for eligible working family caregivers would reduce the significant financial impact of caregiving. Eligible caregivers caring for loved ones of all ages could receive the credit if the care recipient meets certain functional or cognitive limitations or other requires. This tax credit would help working family caregivers regardless of whether they live with their loved one or if their loved one is a dependent.

Overwhelmingly support for tax relief for caregivers

A newly released AARP poll findings indicate that voters in competitive congressional districts want Congress to give financial relief to America’s family caregivers. The poll, conducted in late Jan. 2025, highlights a “clear, bipartisan mandate” say prominent pollsters from Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research.

The bipartisan polling team conducted this survey of 3,000 registered voters nationally and 1,000 voters in the 28 most competitive House districts between January 27 and February 1, 2025. According to AARP, the districts chosen were the 15 Republican-held districts won by <5% of the vote in 2024, and the 13 Democratic-held districts that were also won by President Trump in 2024. The margin of sampling error for the national survey is ±1.8% and ±3.1% for the congressional districts survey.

The AARP poll findings reveal overwhelming voter support (84%) for Congress and the Trump Administration to act this Congress on a caregiver tax credit. Among various tax proposals currently being considered by Congress — including eliminating income taxes on Social Security, tips, and overtime pay—voters ranked passing a caregiver tax credit as their top priority.

“America’s family caregivers put family first, helping their parents, spouses and others stay at home. They spend thousands of dollars every year on this care, while juggling work and family responsibilities,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer in a statement released on Feb. 11, 2025 announcing the results of AARP’s poll. “Without them, millions of older Americans would be forced into costly nursing homes—many at taxpayer expense. As Congress debates tax policy, the message from voters is clear: lawmakers must prioritize financial relief for hardworking Americans who are caring for their aging family members. AARP urges Congress to put money back into the pockets of hardworking family caregivers by passing a tax credit,” she says.

Bipartisan

The poll findings indicate that support for the caregiving tax credit spans party lines, with strong majorities of Republicans (84%), Independents (82%), and Democrats (87%) in favor. And support for a caregiver tax credit (84%) outpaces support for continuing the 2017 tax cuts (51%).

Seventy-six-percent of voters agree that “Before Congress extends any tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations, it should support working Americans with a tax credit to help cover the expenses of taking care of a loved one.”

Family caregiving crosses party lines, with nearly two-thirds of voters (63%) serving as family caregivers at some point in their lives—many of whom struggle financially.

Most voters (63%) say they are worried about their personal financial situation. Family caregivers nationwide, many of whom face financial struggles, spend an average of $7,200 in out-of-pocket expenses each year—making it harder to afford essentials like groceries and bills.

“Voters over the age of 50 are a critical voting bloc that all candidates should compete for every election cycle,” adds Tony Fabrizio, partner at Fabrizio Ward. “Our poll found that Americans of all political stripes want leaders to support family caregivers. Candidates looking ahead to the 2026 midterms should pay attention to this issue if they want to win,” he said.

Could tax credits for caregivers become a reality?

Maybe. During the 118^th Congress, Republican and Democratic lawmakers came together to cosponsor legislation that called for federal tax credits for caregivers. S. 3702, with 11 Democrats, 3 Republicans and 3 Independents, was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Its companion measure in the lower chamber, H. R. 7165, with 81 cosponsors (72 Democrats and 9 Republicans), was referred to House Ways and Means Committee. Both bipartisan bills never made it to mark up or even to the House floor for vote.

Tax Notes reporter Alexander Rifaat, who covers the White House and Treasury, reported in a web article posted on Oct. 29, 2024 that Presidential Republican candidate Donald Trump supported tax relief for caregivers. Rifaat noted that during his 2024 presidential election, at a campaign event held at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27, Trump called for a national tax credit for caregivers who are “never spoken of” and stay at home.

At the campaign event, Rifaat noted that Trump told the crowd: “I will support a tax credit for family caregivers who take care of a parent or a loved one. And it’s about time they were recognized, right?”

Now, as President Trump has an opportunity to keep this campaign promise by calling on the Republican-controlled Congress to work with Democratic lawmakers to give America’s caregivers financial relief, through the passage of a national tax credit legislation that will benefit them. It’s time to work together and put caregivers before partisan politics.

For a copy of the National Legislative Priorities Survey, Feb. 2025, go to www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/topics/voter-opinion-research/politics/federal-tax-package-legislative-priorities.doi.10.26419-2fres.00921.001.pdf.

For a listing of organizations urging Congress in Jan. 7, 2025 correspondence to provide financial tax relief to caregivers, go to www.nase.org/sf-docs/default-source/advocacy-documents/financial-relief-for-family-caregivers-credit-for-caring-act-sign-on-letter-january-2025-(1).pdf?sfvrsn=e6b0e0f0_1

www.bls.gov/blog/2023/celebrating-national-family-caregivers-month-with-bls-data.html

To read AARP’s Research Insights into Caregiving, go to www.aarp.org/pri/topics/ltss/family-caregiving/aarp-research-insights-caregiving/.

New study gives Congress a road map to fix Social Security

Published in RINewsToday on February 17, 2025

As Social Security celebrates its 90^th anniversary on Aug. 14, 2025, this essential retirement program has long been facing a significant long-term financing gap. According to the 2024 Social Security trustees report, unless Congress acts the trust funds will be depleted by 2035, forcing the program to reduce benefits by 17%.

With over 70 million retirees and individuals with disabilities receiving Social Security benefits, it is time for Congress to get serious about hammering out a viable bipartisan solution to resolving Social Security’s funding gap. And a recently released report provides the groundwork for a policy that a partisan Congress might just consider.

Last month, the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), AARP, the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) released the results of a qualitative analysis study, on Jan. 29, 2025, detailing American views on Social Security, a federal “social safety net” program that provides income to people who are retired, disabled, or have dependents, helping them to plan for retirement and other life events.

The new, recently released, 72-page report, entitled, Social Security at 90: A Bipartisan Roadmap for the Program’s Future, is a must read for the White House and Congressional lawmakers as they begin to debate specific policies that would make long-term fixes to ensure the long-term solvency of the America’s retirement program.

The NASI survey, fielded by NORC at the University of Chicago, a nonprofit research organization, surveyed 2,243 Americans ages 21 and over.

Unlike most public opinion research on Social Security, which asks about each policy option individually, NASI says that this survey, conducted in partnership with the Washington, DC-based Greenwald Research, a firm having extensive experience in public opinion and consumer preference research, features a unique trade-off analysis that examine which combination of product features – or in this case policy changes- that consumers prefer and are willing to pay for.

The study’s findings are also largely consistent with previous NASI 2012 and 2014 studies, Strengthening Social Security: What Do American’s Want? and Americans Make Hard Choices: A Survey with Trade-off Analysis.

Sending a clear message to Washington

The NASI study’s findings indicate that Americans (across party lines, generations, income and education), strongly support Social Security and see it as the lynchpin for retirement security. Only four percent state that they do not consider it to be an important income to draw on during retirement.

Rather than ensuring the solvency of Social Security through cutting benefits, the survey respondents strongly support strengthening the program’s finances by raising revenues, noting the study’s findings. Eighty-five percent of the respondents call for benefits not being reduced, even if this means raising taxes on some or all Americans.

According to the survey’s findings, the most strongly favored option is eliminating the cap on payroll tax contributions for those earning more than $400,000 per year and their employers, who would contribute to Social Security via payroll taxes on wages above that amount. Those affected would not receive additional benefits.

Additionally, respondents across all groups, including a majority of Republicans, say they are willing to pay more themselves by gradually increasing the payroll tax rate from 6.2 percent to 7.2 percent, to strengthen the program’s finances. Workers earning less than $50,000 per year would not take financial hits. They would only contribute an additional $42 per month.

Don’t touch our benefits!

Given a broad set of policy options available to address Social Security’s financing gap, the respondents also reject benefit reductions such as keeping the full retirement age at 67 instead of further raising. Those surveyed also called for adjusting the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to more accurately reflect inflation and spending habits of older adults.

The NASI study also found that Americans want to strengthen Social Security benefits by adding a caregiver credit for workers who take time out of the workforce to care for young children and a “bridge benefit” to protect from the early claiming reduction of those in physically demanding jobs who may be unable to continue working up to full retirement age.

Finally, the study’s findings indicate that overwhelming majority of Americans (90 percent) see the need and valuable of Social Security’s disability benefits, too. These respondents say that they will need Social Security’s disability benefits if they become disabled and unable to support themselves through work, and only four percent support cutting disability benefits. The survey also finds strong bipartisan support for updating outdated rules in Supplemental Security Income, including its $2,000 asset limit.

Statements from NASI and core partners

“At a time when our country is deeply divided, Social Security remains a powerful unifying force,” said Rebecca Vallas, NASI’s Chief Executive Officer. “This survey shows there is strong bipartisan agreement on how the American people want to secure the program’s future, and we urge policymakers to listen,” she says.

“It is rare in today’s political climate to see people unite around anything,” adds AARP Chief Public Policy Officer Deb Whitman, noting that all Americans want their Social Security benefits to be preserved. They are willing to do what it takes to ensure the program continues to provide meaningful support for future generations, she says.

“Social Security is the foundation of retirement security in the United States. This report clearly indicates both the important role that Social Security plays as a source of retirement income for older Americans as well as the priority the American people place on resolving the financing gap so that benefits are not cut indiscriminately,” said Tyler Bond, NIRS’s Research Director. “This research continues a long history of finding strong support for Social Security among the public,” he says.

Finally, stated: “These survey results show that Americans value Social Security and their private sector retirement benefits because they were unwilling to cut those benefits to finance Social Security,” says Chantel Sheaks, USCC’s Vice President of Retirement Policy. “Americans think of these together, and policymakers should as well,” he suggests.

Adding their two cents

“This survey shows that Americans — Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike — absolutely do not want to see cuts to Social Security’s modest benefits,” says Nancy Altman, President of the Washington, DC-based Social Security Works.

“Instead, they want the wealthy to finally start contributing their fair share. If necessary, they are even willing to pay more themselves. Any DC politician who supports benefit cuts is wildly out of step with the American people,” she notes.

“While the study’s findings are consistent with other major surveys on Social Security during the previous years, it is remarkable that despite the current tumultuous political environment, American voters have a deep emotional bond with the program and want to ensure that Congress protects and improves their benefits without cutting them,” says Dan Adcock, director of government relations and policy at the Washington, DC-based National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

The NASI poll sends a strong signal to members of Congress that they should support legislation, like Rep. John Larson (D-CT) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s Social Security 2100 Act, that would extend solvency and improve benefits by having the wealthy pay their fair share of payroll taxes,” says Adcock.

In one of President Trump’s rolling press conferences, he touched upon Social Security saying there were no cuts being proposed – if anything he would make the program stronger.

Social Security and the Ocean State

In 2022, there were more than 233,000 Social Security beneficiaries in Rhode Island, including more than 172,000 retirees, 32,000 disabled workers, and almost 14,000 children,” says NIRS’s Tyler Bond, noting that all of these Rhode Islanders face the prospect of an indiscriminate benefit cut in a decade unless Congress acts to shore up Social Security’s financing.

“This report has one clear takeaway: the American people do not want Social Security benefit cuts, and they are willing to pay more themselves to avoid those potential benefit cuts,” adds Bond.

In conclusion, the NASI report cites 84-year-old Elizabeth R. Virginia, about her personal views on America’s retirement program. “Social Security is one of the most dependable things that we have. You know that it will come again at the same time. Right now, I know the second day of every month, it is there,” she says.

As Virginia knows, she can count on receiving her monthly Social Security check. The program has never missed a payment in nine decades. Congress must now work together to ensure that this never will happen.

For a copy of NASI’s Social Security report, go to www.nasi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NASI_SocialSecurityat90.pdf

For copy of NASI’s issue brief, “America’s View on Social Security,” go to www.nirsonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/FINAL-Views-on-SS-July-2024.pdf/

For statistics on RI Social Security beneficiaries, go to Source for RI statistics, go to www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/oasdi_zip/2022/ri.pdf.

First Senate Aging Committee hearing of new congress looks at wellness

Published in RINewsToday on February 3, 2025

Over a week after the 119^th Congress began on Friday, Jan. 3, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) took the reins of the U.S. Special Committee on Aging, becoming its 20^thchairman. He follows in the footsteps of former Chairman Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), a 3-term Democratic Senator, who lost his reelection bid for a fourth term to Republican Dave McCormick. a West Point graduate, combat veteran and bronze star recipient, a national security, expert, and former hedge fund manager.

On Wednesday afternoon, on Jan. 15 in SD 106, Scott chaired the first Senate Aging Committee hearing of the new Congress, entitled “Improving Wellness Among Seniors: Setting a Standard for the American Dream.” The hearing, lasting two hours and seven minutes, put the spotlight on America’s senior health, personal and community safety and the benefits of socializing and working later in life.

While established in 1961 as a temporary committee, the Senate Aging Committee became a permanent Senate committee in 1977. Over the years, aging advocates say that committee has operated in a bipartisan manor. And the Florida Senator says he will carry on this tradition.

In his opening statement, the Republican Chairman stressed that aging is not a partisan issue. “Whether or not we’d like to admit it or note, we are all aging, and it impacts every single one of us regardless of political party” he said.

“I believe we have a big opportunity in this Committee to work in a bipartisan manner to support and improve the lives of America’s current senior citizens and create change that will improve both the lifespan and health span of future generations, said Chairman Scott, pledging that he and his staff will “work together with all the members here to find common ground and ways we can advance or shared goals.”

As chairman, Scott’s goals are to make sure every senior can say that they are physically healthy, financially secure, live in a safe community and has family and community support. “If you have all four of these things, your senior years can be the best time of your life,” he notes.

Sen. Kristin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the ranking member who has served on the Senate Aging Committee since 2009, congratulated Scott for assuming his chairmanship position, “I look forward to working closely with you during this Congress,” she said, in her opening statement.

According to the Democratic Senator, the Senate Aging Committee has a long history of bipartisanship. “I hope we continue that tradition to advance an agenda that makes sure our loved ones can age with the support they need and with dignity and respect,” she said.

Gillibrand reported that she hopes to continue working on lower prescription drug costs, continuing to guard against financial scams, and protecting programs that older adults and people with disabilities rely on, such as Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.

The ranking member noted that this hearing would address how to promote wellness among older adults. “We’ll address issues like accessible housing, financial security, and engagement with the community,” she said, the importance of giving people the tools to live and age well. “Those tools are different for everyone, but include resources like nutrition assistance programs, Area Agencies on Aging, Centers for Independent Living, supportive housing programs, Medicare and Medicaid, and Social Security,” she added.  

Ways to Improve the Health and Wellness of the Nation’s Seniors

During his testimony, Sheriff Bill Prummell rattled off a list of proactive and effective ways that the Sheriff’s Office serves and protects seniors and disabled adults residing in Charlottee County, Florida. Prummell shared a number of innovative programs with the Senators that could easily be replicated throughout the nation.

Here are just a few…

According to Prummell, who serves as President of the Florida Sheriff’s Association, his office utilizes trained volunteers to reach out weekly to isolated age 60 and over seniors and disabled adults. The volunteers get to know these individuals thru their weekly phone calls, by giving them Christmas gifts and mailing birthday cards to these individuals on that special date, too.

Meanwhile, Prummell noted that efforts like Project Lifesaver (using GPS tracking bracelets to locate wanderers) and DNA Scent Kits (enabling participants to keep a DNA scent article at home to be used by K9 Deputies) to assist his deputies in finding missing wanderers.

And, Operation Pill Drop, even allows individuals to dispose of expired or unwanted medication in drug receptacle boxes at participating district offices, he says, noting that this keeps family members and others from accessing the senior’s medication cabinet to take old and unused medications.

While she has seen dramatic improvements in preventative and health promotion programs, “we still have a long way to go,” says Witness Maria Alvarez, Executive Director of New York Statewide Senior Action Council. She used the Senate Aging Committee hearing as a bully pulpit to call for a 2025 White House Conference on Aging be held to “help the country chart a course for addressing the needs of the growing older population as 20 percent of this country is now over the age of 65.”

“But we cannot ignore the need to recognize that having health care and preventive services available is not sufficient if they are not affordable or if discrimination, actual or perceived persists,” Alvarez says.

According to Alvarez, along with Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, the Older Americans Act “has had seismic effect on the elderly population. “These programs provide a framework that seniors can rely on to continue to live and thrive and live with dignity, she says.

Witness Dawn Carr, Ph.D., director of the Claude Pepper Center at Florida State University, told the attending Senators that it’s time to reframe aging policy to promote healthy aging, noting that this “will require an expansion of our current aging-related policy goals.” These goals must emphasize supporting healthy aging throughout a person’s lifespan, she said.

“It means expanding healthy aging research, improving health care literacy and access, and incentivizing health behaviors and health interventions based on optimal health function goals,” says Dr. Carr, adding that this means “thinking about viewing older people as a critical resource that improves our society, rather than as a barrier to societal progress.”

Finally, during her testimony, Professor Emerita Dr. Susan Hughes, Ph.D., in the Division of Community Health Sciences and Founding Director of the Center for Research and Health and Aging at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) described the imitations of current funding for health promotion programs for older adults, calling for “transformational re-thinking” of a historical focus on post-acute care. According to Dr. Hughes, this has resulted in funding gaps in supporting long-term care and preventative programs for older adults, especially for those with chronic conditions like arthritis.

Increased funding for wellness programs could reduce health care costs and improve out outcomes, she says, citing the success of UIC’s Fit & Strong! Program, a low cost, evidence-based intervention that helps senior’s manage osteoarthritis through physical activity.

But, despite the success of programs like Fit & Strong! lack of funding and reimbursement mechanisms, limit their impact, charges Dr. Hughes. calling for the Older American’s Act (OAA), particularly Title III D (or a new title), to support the funding of physical activity programming.

“Ultimately, however, we will see much bigger returns if we develop demonstrations and/or regulations or reimbursement mechanisms that support the dissemination of and access to evidence-based health promotion programs as extensively as possible through Medicare, says Dr. Hughes.

Walking the Talk

“Helping older people is a bipartisan issue — and the Aging Committee has a history of addressing the challenges that seniors face. The work that the Senate Aging Committee does is especially critical today, with 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 every day, and given the uncertainty about the future of critical programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security,” says Max Richtman, President & CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

Taking the reins of the Senate Aging Committee, Chairman Scott pledges to work with Ranking Member Gillibrand in a “bipartisan manner” to improve the lives of America’s seniors. Will he walk his talk or are these just empty words?

Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Aging Committee MUST work together to push the Republican-controlled Senate to allocate increased funding for the AOA and Medicare, or create additional reimbursement mechanisms to promote health and wellness programs. Research tells us that these programs increase physical activity, brings people together to socialize, and enhances brain health, and even cuts medical costs. Even with a federal budget deficit, in this case Congress must not be penny wise and pound foolish.

To watch this Senate Aging Committee hearing go to

https://www.aging.senate.gov/hearings/improving-wellness-among-seniors-setting-a-standard-for-the-american-dream.