Long-Term Care Cost Calculator
See how care costs could affect your retirement savings before a crisis forces your family to guess.
A simple free calculator for estimating care cost pressure, monthly funding gaps, and how long savings may last.
Estimate Your Care Cost Risk
Your estimate updates automatically as you change the numbers.
This estimate is for educational purposes only and does not replace professional advice.
On these assumptions, savings could be exhausted well within your planning horizon. Consider exploring care funding options.
Need a more complete private planner?
The Retirement Care Cost Planner includes scenario comparison, year-by-year projections, a printable report, backup and restore, and private offline use.
- Compare nursing home, in-home care, and assisted living
- See a year-by-year projection
- Print a planning report
- Save and restore your data
- Use it privately offline
Sold as a downloadable digital product.
Why care costs can change retirement planning fast
Many families plan for retirement income and savings, but never simulate what happens if care costs appear suddenly. A monthly care expense can create a funding gap that draws down savings much faster than expected.
The shift can happen in a single conversation with a hospital discharge planner. One month you are managing on a steady income; the next, you are paying $5,000 to $10,000 a month out of pocket — and the numbers you used to plan retirement no longer apply.
Looking at the math early, while no one is in crisis, makes the choices feel smaller. You can compare scenarios, talk as a family, and decide what to do before a decision is forced on you.
Types of long-term care costs to consider
The right number to enter depends on the kind of care you are planning around. Three common scenarios:
In-home care
Part-time or full-time help at home can create a significant monthly cost, especially when care hours increase over time.
Assisted living
Assisted living may combine housing, meals, supervision, and personal care services. Actual costs vary widely by location and level of support.
Nursing home care
Nursing home care is often one of the highest-cost care scenarios and can put strong pressure on retirement savings if paid out of pocket.
How this calculator works
Three straightforward formulas. No black box, no surprises. You can run the same numbers on paper.
The calculator uses simplified assumptions to help you start understanding the numbers. It does not adjust for inflation, investment returns, taxes, Medicare or Medicaid eligibility, insurance benefits, or changes in care intensity over time. The Full Offline Planner adds scenario comparison, year-by-year projections, printable reports, and offline private use, but it still uses simplified assumptions and does not replace professional advice.
Free Calculator vs. Full Offline Planner
Start with the free calculator to see if there's a funding gap to worry about. Move to the full planner when you're ready to compare scenarios and print a report.
- Single care cost estimate
- Basic funding gap
- Estimated savings duration
- Runs on this page in your browser
- Printable report not included
- Three care scenarios in one view
- Nursing home, in-home care, and assisted living
- Year-by-year projection
- Printable planning report
- Backup and restore your data
- Private offline use — your data stays on your computer
- Quick Start Guide PDF
For Resource Pages, Advisors, and Caregiver Organizations
The Long-Term Care Cost Calculator is free, requires no login or email, collects no personal data, and is built as a neutral educational resource. It is safe to link from advisor websites, eldercare nonprofits, hospital discharge resource pages, caregiver support communities, and senior living guides.
- Free to use, with no account, signup, or paywall
- No tracking of personal or financial inputs — calculations run in the browser
- Independent and educational — not affiliated with any insurer, facility, or product
- Plain-language formulas explained on the page
- Suitable as a starting-point resource before professional advice
You are welcome to link to this page as a resource. Suggested link text: Long-Term Care Cost Calculator (free, no login) — carecostclarity.com. For partnership or content questions, see the contact page.
FAQ
Short, clear answers about long-term care planning and how this tool fits.
This calculator is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, legal, tax, medical, insurance, or elder-care advice. Estimates are simplified and may not reflect actual costs in your location or personal situation. Always verify care costs and consult qualified professionals before making decisions.