Many Americans Will Need Long-Term Care. Most Won't Be Able to Afford It.

A study published in Health Affairs focused on how many middle-income American seniors will be caught in a financial quagmire of needing long-term care but unable to afford it, reports the New York Times . Using data from the national Health and Retirement Study, including personal income and assets and health status, the researchers defined the middle-income cohort as Americans from the 41st to the 80th percentile in terms of financial resources. In 2029, for people 75 to 84 — the age range when they are likely to need long-term care — this would mean access to about $25,000 to $74,000 annually in current dollars. Past age 85, the middle-income category extends to $95,000. About 14.4 million people will fall into the middle-income category, which is almost double the current population. A decade from now, 80 percent of middle-income seniors will have less than $60,000 a year in income and assets, not including equity in their homes. Yet the estimated cost of assisted living plus out-of-pocket medical expenses will hit $62,000 per year, by the researchers' conservative estimate.