With the aging baby boomer population in the United States approaching 80 million, long term care is becoming an increasingly important issue in this country. As Americans continue to live longer, millions will face the prospect of needing or proving long term care at some point their lives.
Long term care covers a broad spectrum form nursing home care for those with complex needs, to adult day health care and assisted living facilities, to home care.
While the costs associated with each type of care vary greatly, they can add up quickly. In just a few short years, families can deplete their savings as they pay for a loved one’s increasingly expensive care out of their own pockets.
Click Here For Your No Hassle Long Term Care Insurance Quote
Long Term Care Insurance Statistics
- 9 Million: Number of Americans now 65 or older who will require long term care. This number is expected to rise by 25 percent to 12 million – by 2020.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2007
- 54 Percent: The national average median cost of one year in a private nursing home room ($74,208) is 54% more than the median household income in the United States ($48,201).
Genworth Financial Cost of Care Survey, conducted by CareScout, April 2009
- 83 Million: Estimated population of Americans who qualify for long term care insurance1. More than 76 million2 have yet to purchase a stand-alone long term care insurance product.
1U.S. Census 2006 and internal Genworth sources
2LIMRA 4Q 2007 In Force
General Information
“It won’t happen to me, but if it does, I can afford it.”
We believe we’ll live a long life. That’s why we prepare for retirement. Too often, however, retirement savings are used to pay for long term care.
More than 35 million American are 65 and older, and by 2011 – just six years from now – that figure will more than double, to 77 million. An estimated four out of ten people will use a nursing home at some point after reaching age 65, and many more will need either home care or an assisted living facility at some time as well.
-Kiplinger’s Retirement Planning, Fall 2005.
If you need long term care services, it is prudent to have a strategy in place to help you pay for them; otherwise, your retirement savings may be at risk.
Across all home care provider types, the national average hourly rate for home health aides is $32.37.
-Genworth Financial 2007 Cost of Care Survey, conducted by CareScout, March 2007.
Nationally, the average annual cost for a private room in a nursing home is $74,806, reflecting a 5.5% increase over 2006 rates.
-Genworth Financial 2007 Cost of Care Survey, conducted by CareScout, March 2007.