Long-Term Care Calculator
Nobody plans on needing extra help later in life, but planning for it anyway is how you stay in control of it. See your projected care costs, your funding gap, and what closing it would take.
Your projected cost, savings, and funding gap will appear here.
What is long-term care, and why plan for the cost now?
Long-term care covers the everyday help someone needs when they can no longer fully manage on their own, whether from a chronic illness, an injury, cognitive decline, or simply the effects of aging. It ranges from a home health aide stopping by a few hours a week to full-time care in an assisted living community or skilled nursing facility. It can be needed at any age, though the likelihood rises significantly later in life.
The financial side is often the part people put off thinking about, largely because the need can arrive with little warning. Industry cost surveys have consistently shown that skilled nursing and memory care can run into six figures a year in many parts of the country, with home health aide and assisted living costs typically lower but still substantial. Planning early doesn't make the need for care less real, but it does turn a potential financial shock into a number you've already run the math on.
How this calculator projects your long-term care costs
Start with today's monthly cost for the type of care you're planning for. The calculator applies your chosen inflation rate for every year between now and when care is expected to start, which gives you a realistic monthly cost at the point care actually begins, not today's price tag. From there, it projects the total cost across your full expected care duration, continuing to apply inflation year by year rather than freezing the price at day one, since a three-year stay in care rarely costs the same in year three as it did in year one.
On the other side of the ledger, any current savings you've earmarked specifically for care are projected forward at your expected rate of return, right up until care is expected to begin. The gap between your projected total cost and your projected future savings is your funding gap, or, if your savings come out ahead, your surplus.
Turning your funding gap into a savings plan
A funding gap by itself is just a number. The more useful question is what it would take to close it. This calculator answers that by working backward: given your funding gap, your timeline, and your expected rate of return, it solves for the level monthly contribution that would grow to fully cover the gap by the time care is expected to start. It's the same style of calculation used for a retirement or college savings target, just pointed at a different goal.
If that monthly figure looks steep, you have several levers to test, not just one. Try a longer timeline if care isn't likely to start for many more years, a different care setting with a lower typical cost, a higher expected rate of return if you're comfortable with more investment risk, or factoring in a long-term care insurance policy to offset part of the monthly cost instead of self-funding the entire amount.
Why insurance riders matter more than they seem to
Long-term care insurance can meaningfully shrink your funding gap, but only if you model it correctly. A policy with a fixed monthly benefit and no inflation rider pays the same dollar amount whether care starts next year or in twenty years, which means inflation quietly shrinks how much of the actual bill it covers over time. A policy with an inflation rider grows its benefit alongside rising costs, which keeps its purchasing power intact. This calculator lets you flag which type you have, so your funding gap reflects what the policy will actually be worth when you need it, not just what it pays today.
Fitting long-term care into your broader retirement plan
Long-term care costs rarely exist in isolation from the rest of your financial picture, especially if retirement is also on the horizon. If you're mapping out an early exit from full-time work, it's worth running the numbers on both fronts, since an earlier retirement date usually means fewer working years to build a care fund and a longer stretch of relying on savings before care even begins. The early retirement calculator can help you see whether your target retirement age still leaves enough runway to build the savings this calculator says you'll need.
Common mistakes when estimating long-term care costs
- Using today's price for a future need: a nursing home rate quoted today is not what it will cost in fifteen or twenty years.
- Counting all retirement savings as care savings: money earmarked for everyday retirement expenses isn't also available to fund care without creating a shortfall elsewhere.
- Assuming a flat insurance benefit keeps pace with costs: without an inflation rider, a fixed benefit covers a shrinking share of the bill each year.
- Picking one care duration and stopping there: testing a shorter and a longer duration shows how sensitive your plan really is.
- Ignoring the funding gap because the number feels big: a large gap is far easier to close gradually over ten or twenty years than all at once later.
Long-Term Care Calculator FAQs
How does this long-term care calculator work?
You enter today's monthly cost of care, how many years until care might start, how long care is likely to last, and an inflation rate for care costs. The calculator projects what monthly care will cost by the time it starts, adds up the total cost across the full care period as prices keep rising, then compares that total to the future value of any savings you've set aside specifically for care. The difference is your funding gap or surplus.
Why does long-term care cost more than general inflation?
Care costs, especially skilled nursing and memory care, have historically risen faster than everyday consumer prices, largely due to rising labor costs in a field that depends heavily on hands-on staffing. That's why this calculator lets you set your own care-cost inflation rate separately from general inflation, rather than assuming your grocery bill and a nursing home bill grow at the same pace.
What counts as 'current savings' in this calculator?
Only include money you've specifically earmarked for long-term care, such as a dedicated long-term care fund, a health savings account balance you plan to reserve for this purpose, or a portion of investments set aside for this goal. Leaving out your everyday retirement savings, home equity, or emergency fund gives you a more honest picture of your actual care-funding gap, rather than double-counting money you need for other things too.
Should I include a long-term care insurance benefit?
Yes, if you already have a policy or are seriously budgeting for one. Enter your expected monthly benefit and note whether the policy includes an inflation rider. Without a rider, most policies pay a fixed dollar amount that doesn't grow, so it covers a shrinking share of the bill over time. With a rider, the benefit grows alongside costs, which the calculator models by inflating it at the same rate you set for care costs.
What does the 'suggested monthly savings' number actually mean?
It's the amount you'd need to set aside every month, starting now and growing at your expected rate of return, to fully close your projected funding gap by the time care is expected to begin. It assumes steady monthly contributions and a consistent return, so treat it as a useful planning benchmark rather than a guarantee, since real markets don't move in a straight line.
What if the calculator shows a surplus instead of a gap?
A surplus means your projected future savings, at your assumed rate of return, are on track to exceed the total projected cost of care. That's a good sign, but it's still worth stress-testing the assumptions: try a higher care-cost inflation rate or a longer care duration to see how much cushion you actually have if costs run higher or care lasts longer than expected.
How many years does long-term care typically last?
It varies enormously by individual, health condition, and type of care. Some people need a few months of home health support after surgery, while others require years of skilled nursing care. Because the range is so wide, this calculator lets you set your own expected duration rather than assuming one length fits everyone, and it's worth testing a few different durations to see how sensitive your funding gap is to this assumption.
Does this calculator account for taxes or specific insurance products?
No. This is a cash-flow projection tool for planning purposes only, not tax or insurance advice. It doesn't account for tax treatment of withdrawals, Medicaid spend-down rules, specific insurance policy terms, or state-by-state cost differences. For decisions involving real money, a fee-only financial planner or elder law attorney can help you apply numbers like these to your actual situation.
This tool is for educational purposes only. Always verify important results with a qualified professional.
