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Nursing Home Quality and Safety - Social Security and Women - Caregiving in the US

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Social Security’s Critical Role in Women’s Financial Security

A critical pillar in economic security for more than 70 million Americans, Social Security plays an especially vital role for women. Lower lifetime earnings, longer life expectancy, and greater caregiving responsibilities mean women on average have less in retirement savings than men. And because of such factors, they also on average receive about $4,800 less annually in Social Security income, which they must rely on more heavily. A recent AARP Public Policy Institute report highlights why strengthening and protecting Social Security is crucial to ensuring financial stability for women in retirement.

Social Security’s Critical Role in Rural America

Social Security, which millions of Americans depend on, is especially important in rural America, home to one-fifth of the nation’s residents. A recent AARP Public Policy Institute report explains why the program plays such a significant role in rural areas and how it helps communities respond to two important trends: larger concentrations of older residents and less access to employer-provided retirement plans.

Caregiving in the US: Understanding the Experiences of Family Caregivers for Older Adults

Nearly one in five U.S. adults—an estimated 51 million Americans—now care for someone age 50-plus, according to a new companion report to AARP’s Caregiving in the US 2025. Caregiving duties, which often include complex medical tasks, consume an average of 26 hours per week, with 23% of caregivers providing more than 40 hours weekly. Caregiving can strain finances, employment, and well-being. The takeaway: a need for policies, workplace supports, and resources to support caregivers and sustain care for older adults.

Nursing Home Quality and Safety: Wide Variance Among States

For the more than 1 million Americans living in nursing homes, the state where they reside matters. The latest update to the AARP Nursing Home Quality and Safety Dashboard finds significant state-by-state disparities in staffing, quality, facility characteristics, and respiratory illnesses. The dashboard, published quarterly with data for every state, tracks 28 critical measures across staffing levels and turnover, quality indicators, facility characteristics, and respiratory illness rates and vaccination rates.

June 2026 Employment Data Digest

As the U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs in June—a slowdown from the 129,000 added in May—the unemployment rate for the 55-plus fell from 3.0% to 2.8%. The overall unemployment rate was down slightly, from 4.3% to 4.2%. In June, 27.2% of jobseekers ages 55 and older were long-term unemployed, compared to 24.6% of jobseekers ages 16 to 54.

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