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Long-Term Care Cost Calculator
Project the future cost of nursing care, assisted living, or in-home support based on New Jersey-area averages, then see how much of it your savings could realistically absorb.
Your Plan
Costs are based on Genworth 2023 New Jersey averages. Adjust the years and inflation to model your scenario.
Care Setting
Your Timeline
National average onset of LTC need is around age 80, but it can begin much earlier with chronic illness or cognitive decline.
Average LTC duration is 3 years. Alzheimer's care often runs 5–8 years.
%
LTC costs have outpaced general inflation, growing 3–5% annually over the past decade.
Resources
$
Savings, brokerage, and the portion of retirement accounts you'd reasonably commit to care—not your home equity or your spouse's needs.
Funding Gap
$415,734
Long-term care funding gap: $415,734Projected long-term care cost beyond what your liquid savings would cover.
How We Got There
- Today's annual cost (assisted living)$80,000
- Future annual cost in 25 years (4% inflation)$213,267
- Total over 3 years of care$665,734
- Liquid savings applied− $250,000
Funding Gap$415,734
For estimation purposes only. Results are not insurance quotes or offers of coverage. Actual care needs, regional costs, and product structures (traditional LTC, hybrid life/LTC, annuity riders) vary widely.
About the Method
A Cost That Compounds Quietly
Roughly 70% of Americans turning 65 will need some form of long-term care in their lifetime, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Medicare does not cover extended custodial care, and Medicaid only kicks in after you've spent down virtually all of your assets.
This calculator uses Genworth's 2023 Cost of Care Survey for New Jersey as the starting point, then projects costs forward using a compounding inflation rate. LTC costs in New Jersey run meaningfully above national averages—nursing home private rooms here exceed $155,000 per year today.
What it deliberately does not model: the tax treatment of LTC benefits, the difference between traditional standalone LTC and modern hybrid life/LTC products, partnership policy asset protection, or shared-care riders for couples. Those decisions belong in a real conversation, ideally years before care is needed—premiums and underwriting both get harder with age.
Related calculators
Planning for care costs also means considering protection for your family and income.
The Next Step
Plan now, while planning is still an option.
LTC underwriting tightens with every birthday. Bring your funding-gap number; we'll walk you through traditional, hybrid, and self-funding strategies that fit your timeline and tax picture.
Schedule a Personal Review