When you save money for retirement, chances are good that you’ll be thinking about how to cover the costs of housing, healthcare, food, travel, and other necessities and indulgences.
Unfortunately, there’s a huge expense you could be faced with that you might easily forget – especially if you’re young and healthy. The problem is, if you don’t take it into account and plan for it, you could drain your savings and end up damaging your spouse’s finances or be unable to leave a legacy for loved ones.
You don’t want to find yourself in this difficult situation, so it’s best to begin preparing as early as possible.
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This is one huge expense you can’t forget to plan for
One of the biggest expenses retirees will likely face is often overlooked. That expense is long-term care costs. According to the Genworth Cost of Care Survey, the national average cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home is $94,900, while a private room is even more at $108,405 per year.
Obviously, this is more money than most people can comfortably spend. In fact, even a few months of nursing care could cause you to quickly drain your retirement nest egg. And, unfortunately, it’s an expense many people do end up facing. A person turning 65 today has close to a 70% chance of requiring some long-term care service, according to LongTermCare.gov.
Sadly, the cost of care is only going up each year. If you are a long way from retirement, it’s very likely that nursing homes will end up with an even higher price tag by the time you’re in need of their services.
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The first step in preparing for huge nursing home expenses is to realize that facing…
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Wanda Beck
View More PostsWanda Beck is a technology reporter who covers the intersection of business and crypto. A native of Boston, Wanda spent almost five years at The Boston25News, where she wrote extensively about the media industry's struggle to adapt to the Internet.
