Colorado's midterms sharpen AARP's focus on aging policy

Colorado's Nov. 3 midterm elections come as the nation faces major questions about Social Security and support for family caregivers.

Why it's important: AARP Colorado is focusing its advocacy on two issues with direct financial consequences for older Americans and their families:

1. Strengthening Social Security's finances without cutting earned benefits.
2. Expanding support for people who provide unpaid care.

Congress will need to address a projected Social Security funding shortfall in the coming years, while families across Colorado already absorb the time and cost of caring for aging relatives, spouses, friends and neighbors.

AARP also wants voters 50-plus to understand how federal policy decisions could affect those issues and where candidates stand on them.

• AARP says its goal is to help voters understand candidates' positions on issues affecting their financial security and independence.

First things first: 93% of voters 50-plus said they were more likely to support a candidate who would ensure workers receive the Social Security benefits they earned.

The challenge: Social Security's Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, which pays retirement and survivor benefits, is projected to pay full scheduled benefits through the fourth quarter of 2032, according to the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report.

But if Congress makes no changes before the fund's reserves run out, continuing program revenue would cover 78% of scheduled retirement and survivor benefits at that point.

• The funding gap means the program would no longer collect enough under current law to pay scheduled retirement and survivor benefits in full.

What AARP is saying: AARP argues that Congress should close that gap without cutting the Social Security payments Americans have earned.

The organization opposes reducing benefits or cost-of-living adjustments, privatizing the program or raising the retirement age.

The impact: Family caregiving creates a different policy challenge, and Colorado's numbers show how much of that work families already perform outside the paid care system.

Caregiving can include helping someone with daily activities and managing medical needs — and many caregivers perform that work while holding jobs and managing their own household expenses.

• Together, family caregivers provide an estimated $1 trillion in mostly unpaid labor each year, saving taxpayers billions.
• Coloradans caring for adult family members or friends account for $16 billion of that unpaid labor.

The organization advocates for policies designed to reduce those pressures, including financial relief, workplace flexibility, caregiver training and access to support services.

The takeaway: AARP Colorado wants voters 50-plus to understand how decisions made in Washington could affect Social Security, family caregivers and the financial security of older Americans.

Looking ahead: Senators elected in 2026 will be serving as Congress faces decisions about Social Security's projected funding shortfall.

Congress has the authority to change Social Security's financing and benefit rules while also shaping policies that affect family caregivers.

• AARP is using the 2026 election season to draw attention to those issues and encourage voters to learn where candidates stand.

Learn more about AARP Colorado's work on Social Security and caregiving.