Long-Term Care Costs and the National Retirement Risk Index

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.