About 57% of Americans who reach age 65 will develop a disability serious enough to require long-term care, according to a 2022 report from the Health and Human Services Department. Roughly 1 in 4 women — 26% — will need such care for longer than five years, compared with 17.5% of men. The average duration of care for women is 3.6 years, compared with 2.5 years for men.
“Women aren’t just more likely to need care. They’re more likely to need care last,” said certified financial planner Laura Mattia, senior vice president and financial advisor with Wealth Enhancement’s Atlas Team in Sarasota, Florida.
‘There’s not a one-size-fits-all answer’
Long-term care is generally defined as assistance with daily living tasks such as bathing, dressing, eating or other things that the person can no longer do on their own. It can be provided in an institutional setting, such as a nursing home or assisted living facility, or in the person’s home.
Women, on average, live longer than men. At birth, the average life span for males in the U.S. is 76.5 years as of 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For women, that average is 81.4 years.
The gap shrinks once you reach age 65. At that point, life expectancy for men is another 18.4 years, or to age 83.4, according to the CDC data. For women, that average is 20.8 years, or age 85.8.
Medicare, the federal health insurance program for individuals age 65 or older, generally does not cover long-term care. This leaves a possible expense later in life that is a big unknown, but should be planned for, experts say.
Some people in need of long-term care rely on unpaid caregivers, such as family or friends, or, if their assets and income are minimal, they may qualify for Medicaid. Others self-insure — meaning they have enough assets to cover the potential cost. And still others rely on some type of insurance.
“There’s not a one-size-fits-all answer,” said CFP Patti Black, a financial advisor with Savant Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. “It depends on their resources, what income they have available.”
Annual nursing home costs run above $100k
The cost of long-term care also depends on the type of services needed, which can make a large difference. For example, for in-home help, the 2025 national median hourly rate for non-medical caregiver services was $35 hourly, and for a private-duty nurse, $90 an hour, according to a March report from Genworth Financial, an insurance company.
For a semi-private room in a nursing home, the median daily rate in 2025 was $315 per day, or $114,975 annually, and for a private room it was $355 daily or $129,575 annually, according to Genworth. For an assisted living facility, the monthly cost was $6,200 or $74,400 annually.
For insurance coverage, there are standalone long-term care policies or hybrid options that combine long-term care coverage with life insurance or an annuity.
“You don’t need something that covers every dollar that you’re going to spend in a nursing home or having somebody come to your house,” said CFP Jeff Judge, a managing partner with Chesapeake Financial Planners in Forest Hill, Maryland. “You just need to bridge the gap between your guaranteed income — pensions, annuities, Social Security — and what the cost might be.”
Women pay more for coverage than men
About 5.8 million individuals have standalone long-term care insurance coverage through a private policy as of 2024, according to Milliman, a business consulting firm. The average age in 2023 for a new policy was 57.
However, depending on your age, health and amount of coverage you’re purchasing, these policies can be expensive. And, women generally will pay more for coverage than men.
For example, $165,000 worth of initial coverage with a 3% inflation protection for a healthy 55-year-old woman costs an average of $3,750 annually, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, a trade group. That compares with $2,200 for a healthy 55-year-old man. For healthy 65-year-olds who purchase a policy, the cost averages $5,290 and $3,280, respectively.
“Explore the options and understand what the history of premium increases have been and what they might be going forward.”
Patti Black
Financial advisor with Savant Wealth Management
Either way, those premiums are likely to rise the way most types of insurance do, experts say. In the past, some of the price hikes have been steep, Black said.
“Explore the options and understand what the history of premium increases have been and what they might be going forward,” Black said.
Additionally, if you wait to purchase coverage after you’ve already started having health problems, an insurer may deny coverage, she said.
Hybrid policies — life insurance that comes with a long-term care benefit — have become a more popular choice compared with standalone policies since about 2014, according to LIMRA, a research and professional organization for the insurance and financial services industry. These policies generally provide coverage if care is needed, and if it is not, a death benefit to your beneficiaries.
“These are still expensive, but at least there will be some benefit, whether it’s long-term care or a death benefit,” Black said. In other words, if you buy a standalone policy and never use the benefits, there is no payout.
Sharing a policy with spouse can reduce cost
It’s also possible to purchase a shared policy, which can help reduce the cost, Judge said. These policies may have an individual benefit for each spouse that the other can tap if they exhaust their own benefits. Coverage also could include a shared pool of benefits available to either person.
“A policy with a husband and a shared pool gets a minimum amount of protection for a reasonable price,” Judge said. “It’s potentially the better choice for budget-conscious clients or those with a younger husband.”
However, he said, it’s important to remember that the husband may need care first and exhaust the shared pool.
Nevertheless, this is “the right solution for most clients as opposed to having no coverage,” Judge said. “They just need to understand what could happen and be willing to accept the trade-offs in exchange for a lower monthly premium.”
The most important thing, Black said, is to start exploring your options long before you need them.
“Nobody wants to talk about ‘Gosh, what happens if I need help going to the bathroom or getting dressed later in life,’ but it is so critical to think through it,” Black said. “I encourage people just to take a step forward, have conversations and investigate the options because their family will be grateful down the road.”
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