CNBC.com | Advisor Insights
By Andrew Osterland on November 8th, 2021
It is easy to feel pessimistic — even apocalyptic — about the looming challenge of long-term care for the nearly 71 million baby boomers heading into their golden years. Consider a few numbers:
- There are currently 14 million people receiving some form of long-term care. That number will double by 2050, according to estimates from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- About 70% of people over age 65 will need some form of long-term care before they die, per an analysis by the Urban Institute.
- The average annual cost of a private room in a nursing home was $102,000 in 2019, according to a survey by insurance company Genworth.
- Research by the Insured Retirement Institute found that 45% of boomers have no retirement savings and more than a quarter of those who do have less than $100,000.
When the oldest baby boomers begin turning 80 in 2025, there will be a growing wave of people who may need more support and services, and the burden will be heaviest for their children. Most long-term care is provided by a spouse, by children — daughters more often than sons — and by other family members.
This is an enormous issue. Advances in technology and public health have allowed people to live longer in a condition of frailty, and we haven’t developed a long-term care system to keep up with that.
Howard Gleckman, Urban Institute
