{
  "slug": "long-term-care-cost-calculator",
  "title": "Long-Term Care Cost Calculator",
  "heading": "Long-Term Care Cost Projection Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/long-term-care-cost-calculator",
  "summary": "Project years of care at real inflation and see the funding gap.",
  "description": "Long-term care is the single largest uninsured risk in most retirement plans. Median US costs run roughly $6,300 a month for assisted living, about $9,700 for a semi-private nursing home room, and near $6,500 a month for 44 hours a week of home health aide time, and these prices have been rising faster than general inflation for two decades. This calculator projects the total cost of a care episode starting a chosen number of years from now, inflates it at a care-specific rate, subtracts any long-term care insurance daily benefit, and reports the funding gap your savings must absorb. Average stays run about 2-3 years, but roughly one in seven people needs care for more than five years, so model both a base case and a tail case. Medicare does not pay for custodial long-term care beyond short rehab stays; Medicaid does, but only after you spend down assets to state limits.",
  "formula": "Future Monthly Cost = Today's Cost × (1 + inflation)^years to care. Gap = Total Cost − Insurance Benefit over the care period.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-06",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=long-term-care-cost-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "careType",
      "label": "Type of care",
      "kind": "select",
      "hint": null,
      "default": "6300",
      "options": [
        {
          "value": "6500",
          "label": "Home health aide (44 hrs/wk) — $6,500/mo"
        },
        {
          "value": "6300",
          "label": "Assisted living facility — $6,300/mo"
        },
        {
          "value": "9700",
          "label": "Nursing home, semi-private — $9,700/mo"
        },
        {
          "value": "11000",
          "label": "Nursing home, private room — $11,000/mo"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "yearsUntilCare",
      "label": "Years until care begins",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 20,
      "unit": "years",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 45
    },
    {
      "id": "careYears",
      "label": "Expected length of care",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3,
      "unit": "years",
      "min": 0.5,
      "max": 15
    },
    {
      "id": "inflation",
      "label": "Care cost inflation",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 4.5,
      "unit": "%/yr",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 10
    },
    {
      "id": "dailyBenefit",
      "label": "LTC insurance daily benefit",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "$/day",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 800
    },
    {
      "id": "benefitYears",
      "label": "Insurance benefit period",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3,
      "unit": "years",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 10
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "gap",
      "label": "Funding gap you must cover",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "total",
      "label": "Total projected cost of care",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "futureMonthly",
      "label": "Monthly cost when care begins",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "covered",
      "label": "Covered by LTC insurance",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "monthlyGap",
      "label": "Average monthly out-of-pocket",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Type of care: Assisted living facility — $6,300/mo",
      "Years until care begins: 20 years",
      "Expected length of care: 3 years",
      "Care cost inflation: 4.5 %/yr",
      "LTC insurance daily benefit: 0 $/day",
      "Insurance benefit period: 3 years"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Funding gap you must cover: $571,960",
      "Total projected cost of care: $571,960",
      "Monthly cost when care begins: $15,194",
      "Covered by LTC insurance: $0",
      "Average monthly out-of-pocket: $15,888"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter type of care.",
      "Enter years until care begins (years).",
      "Enter expected length of care (years).",
      "Enter care cost inflation (%/yr).",
      "Enter ltc insurance daily benefit ($/day).",
      "Enter insurance benefit period (years).",
      "Read your funding gap you must cover on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "careType": "6300",
        "yearsUntilCare": 12,
        "careYears": 1.7999999999999998,
        "inflation": 2.6999999999999997,
        "dailyBenefit": 0,
        "benefitYears": 2
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "careType": "6300",
        "yearsUntilCare": 20,
        "careYears": 3,
        "inflation": 4.5,
        "dailyBenefit": 0,
        "benefitYears": 3
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "careType": "6300",
        "yearsUntilCare": 32,
        "careYears": 4.800000000000001,
        "inflation": 7.2,
        "dailyBenefit": 0,
        "benefitYears": 5
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Does Medicare cover long-term care?",
      "a": "No. Medicare pays for up to 100 days of skilled nursing after a qualifying hospital stay, with cost sharing after day 20. Custodial care — help with bathing, dressing, eating — is not covered at all."
    },
    {
      "q": "How long do people actually need care?",
      "a": "Roughly half of people turning 65 will need some paid care, with a median duration around two years for men and closer to three for women. About one in seven needs more than five years, which is the scenario insurance is really for."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is 4.5% the right inflation rate?",
      "a": "Long-term care costs have risen faster than CPI for most of the last twenty years, commonly 3-5% annually with sharper jumps in nursing home rates. Run a 3% and a 6% case to bracket the risk."
    },
    {
      "q": "What about Medicaid?",
      "a": "Medicaid pays for nursing home care after you spend down assets below state limits, with a five-year lookback on transfers. It is the default funding source for long stays, not a planning strategy to rely on lightly."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/life-insurance-coverage-need-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/annuity-income-payout-calculator"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Long-Term Care Cost Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/long-term-care-cost-calculator)"
}