A Statistical Nightmare

"Statistics can be made to prove anything – even the truth.”

- Unknown

Long-term care might just be the most costly end-of-life expense people have to deal with. Did you know that there is a two-thirds chance that you – yes, YOU – will need nursing home care at some point during your life? Here are some interesting statistics to consider:

1. According to the most recent National Nursing Home Survey (2004), 89.4% of Midwestern nursing home residents were 65 or older. Of that total, 30.9% were between 75 and 85, and 47.3% were over the age of 85.
2. The Social Security Administration’s life expectancy table gives you 16.6 years to live at age 65, 10.1 years to live at age 75, and 5.2 years to live at age 85.
3. In Iowa, the average cost of nursing home care for 2011 is $52,925 for the year ($4,410 each month).
4. The cost of nursing home care increases by nearly 5% annually.

Now you know the numbers, but what do they mean? Let’s say you’re 85 years old today and you need nursing home care. You’re basically healthy, but your mental faculties are failing, so you need 24-hour care. You can expect to pay as much as $306,000 just to stay in the nursing home.

Let’s do one more: Say you’re 55 years old today. Assume you’re a pretty healthy person and manage to make it to age 85 before you need nursing home care. That’s thirty years from now, with an increase in the cost of nursing home care of 5% per year. Your first year of nursing home care could cost as much as $228,000!

I talk to people all the time about how expensive nursing home care is. Usually, the conversations boil down to this question:

Do you know how you’re going to pay for your care?

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Lawyer Joke of the Day:

An engineer, a physicist, and a lawyer were being interviewed for a position as chief executive officer of a large corporation. The engineer was interviewed first, and was asked a long list of questions, ending with "How much is two plus two?" The engineer excused himself, and made a series of measurements and calculations before returning to the board room and announcing, "Four." The physicist was next interviewed, and was asked the same questions. Before answering the last question, he excused himself, made for the library, and did a great deal of research. After a consultation with the United States Bureau of Standards and many calculations, he also announced "Four." The lawyer was interviewed last, and was asked the same questions. At the end of his interview, before answering the last question, he drew all the shades in the room, looked outside the door to see if anyone was there, checked the telephone for listening devices, and asked "How much do you want it to be?"