Retirement Social Security

Social Security Benefits Could Increase for Millions Under New Bill

Unpaid caregivers could see higher retirement benefits under a new proposal.

By Robert Baillieul , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated May 5, 2026

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Many Americans step away from work to care for kids, aging parents, or loved ones with disabilities, but that decision sometimes impacts their retirement plan down the road.

A new bill in Congress, however, aims to fix that by giving unpaid caregivers Social Security credits for time spent out of the workforce. If passed, it could boost future benefits for millions of people.

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How Social Security benefits are calculated

At first glance, Social Security might seem simple, but how your benefit is calculated often has a big impact on what you get later. Simplified slightly, the program takes an adjusted average of your 35 highest-earning years to figure out how much you will receive in retirement.

The more you earn during those years, the higher your monthly payments. But if you don't have a full 35 years of earnings, the system still does the math. It just fills in the missing years with zeroes.

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Why caregiving years sometimes hurt your benefits

That's where caregiving sometimes creates a problem. If you leave work or cut back hours to care for someone, those years may count as low or no income.

Over time, those lower-earning years could pull down your average. That may lead to a smaller monthly benefit later, even if you were doing essential unpaid work.

What the new caregiver credit bill would do

Lawmakers are now trying to fix this gap. A new proposal, called the Social Security Caregiver Credit Act, has been reintroduced by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chris Murphy.

The idea is simple. Instead of letting those years count as zero, the system would assign a level of income to help protect a caregiver's future Social Security benefits.

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How the caregiver credits could work

If passed, the bill could allow eligible caregivers to add up to five years, or 60 months, of credited income to their Social Security record. To qualify, you would need to provide at least 80 hours of unpaid care per month.

Those credited months would be based on about 50% of the national average wage, helping replace years with little or no income. The goal is to fill in those gaps, not stack extra earnings on top of already high-earning years.

How many people this could affect

This proposal could reach a large share of Americans. About 63 million adults provide unpaid care for children, older adults, or family members with disabilities, according to a joint report by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving.

That's nearly one in four adults. Many of these caregivers reduce their hours or leave the workforce entirely, which could create gaps in their earnings and affect their future Social Security benefits.

Why women may benefit the most

Women may see the biggest impact from this proposal. They make up a larger share of unpaid caregivers. And nearly half of women who voluntarily left their jobs in 2025 reported that caregiving responsibilities were the key factor driving their decision to leave the workforce, according to a survey by a non-profit called Catalyst.

That time away could lead to more zero-earning years over a lifetime. As a result, women often receive lower Social Security benefits than men on average, making changes like this especially meaningful.

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How this bill could affect your future benefits

If the bill becomes law, it could help replace those zero-earning years with credited income. That may raise your average lifetime earnings, which is a key factor in how Social Security calculates your benefit.

In simple terms, fewer zeroes could mean a higher monthly check in retirement. The exact increase would depend on your work history, but even a small boost could make a difference over time.

Related bills are also in the works

This proposal is part of a broader push in Congress to support family caregivers. Lawmakers have introduced other bills that focus on helping caregivers keep saving for retirement while they're out of the workforce.

Some of those proposals would make it easier to contribute to retirement accounts like Roth IRAs or extend catch-up contribution limits. While they take a different approach, they all aim to solve the same problem: caregivers falling behind financially.

What happens next if the bill moves forward

The bill has been introduced in Congress, but it still needs to pass through committees, be approved by both the House and Senate, and be signed into law before anything changes.

And even if the bill passes, you wouldn't see an immediate bump. But over time, those credited years could help boost Social Security income for millions of recipients.

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Why the proposal faces challenges

But real hurdles remain. Similar versions of this bill have been introduced before, but none have made it into law.

A big issue is cost. Social Security is already facing long-term funding pressure, with the trust fund projected to run short in the 2030s. That could make lawmakers cautious about expanding benefits without a clear way to pay for it.

Bottom line

The Social Security Caregiver Credit Act highlights a real issue. Millions of caregivers take on essential work that often reduces their future benefits.

While the bill could help close that gap, it still faces an uncertain path in Congress. For now, it's a reminder to factor caregiving into your long-term plans, especially if it may affect your ability to build a stress-free retirement.

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