It’s one of the things we like to think about the least: needing help caring for ourselves when we are older.
While living to a ripe old age sounds great—and statistics show that many of us might be headed in that direction—the idea of not being able to fully care for ourselves is so daunting that we put off planning for it, or perhaps never plan for it at all.
Yet it’s an issue that is much better dealt with now, when we are best equipped to explore our options.
Maybe it’s sticker shock that prevents some of us from taking action. The cost of long-term care, known as LTC, is well reported. Genworth, a provider in the long-term insurance space, has published its Cost of Care Survey for the last 15 years.
The most recent figures in Genworth's 2018 report highlighted these annual national median costs:
- Homemaker Services: $48,048
- Home Health Aide: $50,336
- Adult Day Health Care: $18,720
- Assisted Living Facility: $48,000
- Semi-Private Room in a Nursing Home: $89,297
- Private Room in a Nursing Home: $100,375
To see how the costs compare where you live, Genworth offers a handy tool that can even project these expenses into the future as you reach certain ages.
