Long-Term Care Cost Calculator

Project long-term care costs by setting and duration with inflation.

About Long-Term Care Cost Calculator

Care inflation compounds twice: before care begins and during it. At 4.5 per cent, costs roughly double every sixteen years, which is why the projection far exceeds today's price. Care needs typically escalate through settings rather than staying constant, so a projection based on one setting usually understates the total.

Formula

Long-Term Care Cost

Cost compounds at care inflation until care begins, then continues rising during care

care inflation: Historically above general inflation because care is labour intensive
today's equivalent: The projected total discounted back to present purchasing power

Worked example

With the default values below, Long-Term Care Cost Calculator returns Total Projected Care Cost of $393,402.71. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Care settingone of Home care, part time, Home care, full time, Assisted living, Nursing home, semi-private, Nursing home, private: Assisted living
Monthly cost todayminimum 0: 5,400
Years until care is neededminimum 0 years: 15 years
Expected duration of careminimum 0.1 years: 3 years
Annual care cost inflationaccepts 0–15 %: 4.5 %

Results

Total Projected Care Cost: $393,402.71
Monthly Cost When Care Begins: $10,450.53
First Year Cost: $125,406.30
Total in Today's Money: $203,279.22
Setting Note: Costs rise substantially if dependency increases and the setting must change

Step by step

1Values used
2Long-Term Care Cost
3Total Projected Care Cost= 393,402.71
4Monthly Cost When Care Begins= 10,450.53
5First Year Cost= 125,406.30
6Total in Today's Money= 203,279.22
7Setting Note= Costs rise substantially if dependency increases and the setting must change

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take tax into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
This is a general illustration, not financial, tax or legal advice. Rules, thresholds and rates vary by jurisdiction and change frequently, and individual circumstances materially affect outcomes. Consult a qualified adviser before making any decision based on these figures.
This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

This is a general illustration, not financial, tax or legal advice. Rules, thresholds and rates vary by jurisdiction and change frequently, and individual circumstances materially affect outcomes. Consult a qualified adviser before making any decision based on these figures.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Long-Term Care Cost calculated?

Cost compounds at care inflation until care begins, then continues rising during care Care inflation compounds twice: before care begins and during it. At 4.5 per cent, costs roughly double every sixteen years, which is why the projection far exceeds today's price.

Why does Long-Term Care Cost matter?

Care needs typically escalate through settings rather than staying constant, so a projection based on one setting usually understates the total.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 5 inputs: Care setting, Monthly cost today, Years until care is needed, Expected duration of care, Annual care cost inflation. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.