"Nursing home costs have increased more than 4% annually since 1974," John Carter, president and chief operating officer of retirement plans for Nationwide Financial, said in a statement. "What a year of nursing home care costs today will not even come close to the actual cost when boomers really need it."
Nationwide found 27% of long-term care is performed in a nursing home and 24% in an adult day care facility.
When asked to estimate how long they might live after they retire, the average response was nearly 21 years among pre-retiree respondents. Among those who were already retired, the average was just over 27 years.
"Often people who intended to work longer are forced into retirement due to health reasons or employment changes," Carter said. "Others may not anticipate their own longevity, especially with today's medical advances. It's critical that pre-retirees change their current mentality of planning to live 20 years in retirement. Too often, once retired they realize they're facing 10 or more years of expenses ahead of them that they didn't plan for."
