Retirees, Get Ready to Need Long-Term Care. Here’s What to Know.
“Demand is rising at the same point that supply is decreasing, and both are happening at a very rapid pace,” said Mr. Shah, chief executive of CareScout, a company that publishes an annual study on the cost of long-term care.
On the demand side of the equation is an aging population. In 2026, the oldest baby boomers will start turning 80, an age when the odds of needing care grow. The U.S. Census Bureau forecasts that the number of people 85 and older will nearly double by 2035 (to 11.8 million people) and nearly triple by 2060 (to 19 million).
At the same time, the care industry has a shortage of workers that is driven partly by low wages. The median hourly wage for all direct care workers was $16.72 in 2023 — lower than the wage for all other jobs with similar or low entry-level requirements, according to an analysis by PHI, a nonprofit research and policy organization.
Experts fear that shortage will be exacerbated by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Immigrants make up 28 percent of the long-term care work force — a figure that has been rising in recent years, according to KFF, a health policy research group.
The price of some long-term care services in 2024 rose as much as 10 percent, according to the CareScout study — more than triple the 2.9 percent general rate of inflation that year.
Much of your medical care in retirement will be covered by Medicare. Long-term care refers to help with daily living for people who are frail or disabled — bathing, dressing, using the toilet, preparing meals, shopping, walking and taking medications.
Most Americans have misconceptions about how they might pay for those needs, or haven’t planned for them at all. KFF polling shows that 23 percent of all adults — and 45 percent of those age 65 or older — incorrectly believe that Medicare will cover their time in a nursing home if they have a long-term illness or disability. Fewer than half of adults said they’ve talked seriously with loved ones about how they would obtain or pay for long-term care. And among near-retirement individuals, just 28 percent say they have set aside money for it.
How should you think about the risk of needing care, what it will cost and how to pay for it? The answers might include long-term care insurance, savings, finding ways to optimize your guaranteed retirement income, Medicaid or reliance on a family member.
For more information see Mark Miller “Retirees, Get Ready to Need Long-Term Care. Here’s What to Know.” New York Times, May 24, 2025.
Special thanks to Lewis Saret (Attorney, Washington, D.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.