Sponsors (5)
The bill would improve retirement security for many unpaid family caregivers by crediting up to 60 months of caregiving toward Social Security and formalizing documentation, but it adds administrative complexity and modestly raises long-term program costs that may require fiscal offsets or tradeoffs.
Unpaid family caregivers (parents, family caregivers, seniors who previously left the workforce) would receive credited earnings for up to 60 qualifying months, increasing future Social Security retirement and disability benefits.
Caregiving is formally recognized and financially valued (including care for children under 12 and chronically dependent adults), which raises the status of caregiving in federal policy and could drive more supports that reduce caregiver financial strain.
The bill creates a federal standard and documentation process (physician verification, periodic recertification) to target credited months to legitimate caregiving situations, helping reduce improper payments and creating clearer rules for claimants and SSA.
Expanding credited earnings for caregivers increases Social Security benefit costs and could put additional pressure on the Trust Funds, potentially leading to higher payroll taxes, reduced benefits, or the need for other fiscal offsets in the future.
Caregivers must provide documentation and periodically recertify (including physician evidence for many dependents), creating administrative burdens, potential delays in crediting months, and extra time/costs for caregivers.
Benefit determinations will be administratively complex (SSA adjudication of qualifying months, ADL/IADL assessments), increasing processing time, dispute risk, and SSA workload.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Allows qualifying months of unpaid family caregiving to be treated as deemed Social Security wages (up to 60 months) for benefit calculations starting after December 2026.
Official title: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit individuals serving as caregivers of dependent relatives with deemed wages for up to five years of such service.
Introduced April 23, 2026 by Brad Schneider · Last progress April 23, 2026
Creates a new Social Security rule that treats months spent providing unpaid family care as "deemed wages" for calculating Social Security benefits. For qualifying months beginning after December 2026, unpaid caregivers who meet an 80-hours-per-month test may receive up to 60 months of credited earnings (calculated as a percentage of the national average wage index or the shortfall above actual earnings), subject to safeguards that prevent lowering existing benefits. Requires the Social Security Administration to issue regulations within one year establishing application, certification, verification, and fraud-prevention processes. Defines who counts as a dependent and what qualifies as "chronically dependent" for purposes of the credit, and excludes months after attainment of retirement age or months with VA assistance counted as compensation.