Long-term care needs among retirees varies widely, new research shows. One strong indicator of whether long-term care will be needed is whether a person is healthy in their late 60s, the study says. Married individuals are more likely to avoid such care than their single counterparts.17 Sept 2021

More from Personal Finance:

A strong indicator of how much assistance a person will need? Whether they are healthy in their late 60s, according to the study.

Additionally, being married translates into less likelihood of needing long-term care, the research shows. For women, 19% of those who are married will need none at all, compared with 14% of those who are single. For men, 17% need no support if they are married, compared with 13% who are unmarried.

The uncertainty of long-term care is a challenge when it comes to retirement planning, experts say. In other words, it can be tricky to determine how to prepare for an unknown cost.

Median cost of long-term care from 2004 to 2020

“There are no good answers, only lousy ones,” said certified financial planner David Mendels, director of planning at Creative Financial Concepts in New York. “So you pick your best lousy answer.”

Key points

• One strong indicator of whether long-term care will be needed is whether a person is healthy in their late 60s, the study says.
• Married individuals are more likely to avoid such care than their single counterparts.
• While it’s tricky to prepare for an uncertain cost, there are several options available.