Long-Term Care Costs and the National Retirement Risk Index

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The brief’s key findings are:

  • The National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) shows the percent of households ‘at risk’ of failing to maintain their standard of living in retirement.
  • The need to purchase long-term care insurance or to use home equity for nursing home expenses raises the NRRI to about 65 percent.
  • This impact comes from the households in the top two thirds of the income distribution; the bottom third will likely rely on Medicaid.
  • Previously, the NRRI showed that 44 percent of households were ‘at risk’ of falling short in retirement, 61 percent including health care costs.