The cost of caring – the impact of caring across carers’ lives

Carers UK have recently launched our new report: State of Caring 2025: The cost of caring – the impact of caring across carers’ lives. In the report we highlight brand-new research from the 10,500 carers’ responses to our State of Caring survey 2025, which explores the financial, human and opportunity costs of unpaid caring, as well as the long-term costs after caring ends.

Some of our key findings include that half (52%) of carers are providing more hours of care than a year ago, almost half (49%) have cut back on essentials, such as food, heating, clothing and transport costs, and almost three quarters (74%) are worried about their future financial security.

In the report we also set out a detailed policy agenda to create a fairer settlement for carers, and call for a new National Carers Strategy, sustainable social care investment, improved financial support, statutory paid Carer’s Leave, and recognition of caring under the Equality Act.

You can read a summary of the report here.

Please do contact us at policy@carersuk.org if you have any questions about the report or would like to discuss any of the issues and how we might be able to work together to raise awareness of these issues further.