Helping Clients Balance Caregiving and Retirement Planning

The years when retirement should come into focus may instead bring a crowded family calendar and household budget. A sandwich caregiver may be supporting an adult child with a disability while also helping an aging parent. Others may be helping an adult child with living expenses or caring for a grandchild. Together, these demands can change how much your client contributes to a workplace retirement plan and when they retire. 

Care responsibilities can shift quickly, and expenses can appear without notice. Your client may be keeping everyone moving while still trying to save for a future that is getting closer. 

You may see the pressure in retirement-plan decisions before your client self-identifies as a caregiver. A reduction in contributions or work hours may be the first sign of family responsibilities that haven’t come up in your conversations.

Start by making family support part of your routine discovery. Sometimes all it takes is one question: Who relies on you financially or may need your help in the next few years? The answer may reveal obligations that don’t appear on an account statement.

Family support may involve a monthly commitment, a one-time expense, or a cost with no clear end date. Ask which expenses the household can cover from current income and which would require reserves. The duration matters as much as the amount: support that continues for years raises different planning questions than a single bill.

Are the same reserves expected to cover family support and your client’s own household needs? Discuss how much is committed to each before an unexpected care expense forces a decision about assets earmarked for retirement. Address any access restrictions or tax questions as part of that discussion. 

Ask: If the cost of support increased or continued longer than expected, what would we revisit first? Agree on a follow-up date and what should trigger an earlier review, such as reduced work hours or a new care expense.

Discuss what would have to change if family support began displacing retirement contributions or delaying retirement. That conversation may include a limit on support, a schedule for rebuilding reserves, or a greater role for other family members. If your client chooses to save less for a time, agree on when to revisit that decision.

Voya Cares® can help you make those conversations part of what sets your practice apart. Its educational resources, planning tools, and client materials can help you prepare for discussions with caregivers and families of people with disabilities, including recognizing questions that call for a legal, tax, or other specialist.