How long will savings last with care costs?

A simple, rough estimate. Enter your parent’s numbers. Nothing you type leaves this page.

Use your own numbers. Care costs vary a lot by town and type of care. Call the in-home care agency or assisted-living community you’re considering and ask for their actual monthly price. We don’t fill in any “average” costs for you.

Money that can actually be used: checking, savings, CDs, investments.

$

Social Security, pension, and other regular income, after any deductions taken out.

$

In-home care, assisted living, adult day care, or nursing home, per month.

$

Housing, food, insurance premiums, medicines, utilities, and so on. If care cost already includes rent and meals (as some assisted-living prices do), don’t count those twice.

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How the math works

  1. Add monthly care cost and other monthly expenses.
  2. Subtract monthly income. That’s the monthly gap.
  3. Divide savings by the monthly gap. That’s about how many months savings could cover.

Example: $150,000 savings, $2,400 income, $5,000 care, $1,200 other. Gap: $5,000 + $1,200 − $2,400 = $3,800 a month. $150,000 ÷ $3,800 = about 39.5 months, or about 3 years and 3 months.

This is a rough estimate. It does not include interest earned, taxes on withdrawals, price increases, changing care needs, or benefits that could start later.

Good to know

Sources

Last checked Oct 18, 2026.

  1. Medicare.gov: Long-term care coverage: https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/long-term-care
  2. 42 U.S.C. 1396p(c): Medicaid transfer-of-assets rules, 60-month look-back (Social Security Act sec. 1917): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1396p
  3. Eldercare Locator (U.S. Administration for Community Living): https://eldercare.acl.gov/

Rules and numbers change. If something here does not match what an agency tells you, trust the agency, and please let us know.