Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
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
$15,888
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How to use this
- 1Enter type of care.
- 2Enter years until care begins (years).
- 3Enter expected length of care (years).
- 4Enter care cost inflation (%/yr).
- 5Enter ltc insurance daily benefit ($/day).
- 6Enter insurance benefit period (years).
- 7Read your funding gap you must cover on the right — it updates as you type.
- 8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
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.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
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
Results
- 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
What each field means
Inputs
- Type of care
- Pick the option that matches your situation — the maths changes per option. Choices: Home health aide (44 hrs/wk) — $6,500/mo, Assisted living facility — $6,300/mo, Nursing home, semi-private — $9,700/mo, Nursing home, private room — $11,000/mo.
- Years until care begins (years)
- The years until care begins used in the calculation, measured in years. Starts at 20 years so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–45 years.
- Expected length of care (years)
- The expected length of care used in the calculation, measured in years. Starts at 3 years so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0.5–15 years.
- Care cost inflation (%/yr)
- The care cost inflation used in the calculation, measured in %/yr. Starts at 4.5 %/yr so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–10 %/yr.
- LTC insurance daily benefit ($/day)
- The ltc insurance daily benefit used in the calculation, measured in $/day. Starts at 0 $/day so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–800 $/day.
- Insurance benefit period (years)
- The insurance benefit period used in the calculation, measured in years. Starts at 3 years so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–10 years.
Results
- Funding gap you must cover
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total projected cost of care
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Monthly cost when care begins
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Covered by LTC insurance
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Average monthly out-of-pocket
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Does Medicare cover long-term care?
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.
How long do people actually need care?
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.
Is 4.5% the right inflation rate?
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.
What about Medicaid?
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.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Long-Term Care Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/long-term-care-cost-calculator
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/long-term-care-cost-calculator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Long-Term Care Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Long-Term Care Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/long-term-care-cost-calculator) (2026).