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Long-Term Care Funding Gap Calculator

Project your total long-term care costs after inflation and identify your monthly funding gap by accounting for insurance, family support, and available savings.

Quick answer: Project long-term care cost after inflation, benefits, insurance, family support, current savings, protected reserves, and the monthly funding gap before retirement or caregiving decisions. Enter monthly care cost, care years, inflation, and benefits to personalize the estimate. It returns total projected cost, net care cost, and funding gap so you can compare the impact before choosing a next step. Use it to compare long-term value, tax impact, risk, time horizon, and contribution choices.

SWReviewed by SwitchWize Research Desk · Last reviewed July 2, 2026
Total Projected Cost
$206,026
Total Projected Cost
$206,026
Care Months
36 months
Year 1 Annual Cost
$66,000
Average Annual Cost
$68,675
Benefit Insurance and Family Offsets
$61,200
Spendable Care Savings
$40,000
Net Care Cost After Offsets
$144,826
Year 1 Monthly Cost After Planned Offsets
$3,800
Monthly Funding Gap
$2,912
Care Savings Runway
11 months
Diagnostic

Projected long-term care cost is $206,026; net care cost after offsets is $144,826.

Funding gap is $104,826, or about $2,912 per care month.

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This long-term care plan has a $104,826 funding gap after savings, benefits, insurance, and family support.

What to do next

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Your action plan
  1. 1

    Find the net care gap

    Subtract benefits, insurance, family support, and spendable savings from projected care costs.

  2. 2

    Protect emergency reserve

    Do not count protected household cash as care funding.

  3. 3

    Review insurance and family support

    Use the remaining monthly gap to evaluate insurance or support commitments.

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This is an educational estimate, not tax, legal, investment, or lending advice. Tax rules, rates, and eligibility change and depend on your full situation. Confirm with a qualified professional or the provider before acting.

Calculator action path

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Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know.

What does an example Long-Term Care Funding Gap Planner calculation look like?
Using this calculator's own default assumptions, a monthly care cost at start of care of $5,500, years of care needed of 3 and monthly benefit / income offset of $1,200 produces an estimated total projected cost of $206,026 and long-term care funding gap of $104,826. Enter your own numbers above to see how it changes for your situation.
What's the difference between my net care cost and my funding gap?
Your net care cost is what you owe after subtracting insurance, family support, and income offsets from your total projected care expenses. Your funding gap is the portion of that net cost that exceeds your spendable savings, the amount you'd need to find through additional resources, Medicaid, or care adjustments.
Why does the calculator show a 'care savings runway'?
This tells you how long your allocated savings will last if you draw them down monthly to cover the care costs after offsets. A shorter runway means your savings deplete quickly relative to your expected care period, signaling that your current savings alone won't bridge the full funding gap.
Is the Long-Term Care Funding Gap Calculator free to use?
Yes. SwitchWize calculators are free, and you do not need an account to run scenarios or view the result.
Does using the Long-Term Care Funding Gap Calculator affect my credit score?
No. Using a calculator does not trigger a credit check. A credit impact can occur only if you apply directly with a lender, card issuer, or provider.
Are the results personalized financial advice?
No. Calculator outputs are educational estimates based on the inputs you enter. Review assumptions and confirm terms directly with providers before making a financial decision.
What should I do after seeing the result?
Use the recommendation module on this page to build this care plan in money map, or run Money Map to compare this investing & retirement decision with your other opportunities.
How does SwitchWize choose related offers?
Related offers are matched by the calculator surface (savings) and ranked using SwitchWize data such as rate, fees, trust signals, product fit, and switching friction. Paid relationships do not change organic ranking order.
How fresh are the rates and offers shown?
Rate and offer data is reviewed on a recurring cadence and every offer module shows review context or links to the methodology and disclosure pages.
Where can I see the ranking methodology?
The SwitchWize methodology page explains how rate freshness, editorial review, affiliate disclosure, and category ranking factors work.
Can Money Map use this result?
Yes. Money Map is the broader diagnostic path: it compares savings, mortgage, cards, and debt so you can see whether this calculator result is your highest-impact next move.

Why This Matters

Long-term care costs grow with inflation and can last years, quickly depleting savings if unplanned. This calculator reveals how much you'll actually need to cover after insurance and family contributions, so you can decide whether to adjust coverage, increase savings, or plan for alternative care arrangements before you need care. Understanding your funding gap now lets you make informed decisions rather than facing a shortfall during caregiving.

How to Use It

  1. 1Enter your estimated monthly care cost at the time care begins.
  2. 2Enter how many years you expect to need care.
  3. 3Enter the annual inflation rate you expect care costs to rise.
  4. 4Enter any monthly income or benefits that will offset care expenses.
  5. 5Enter your long-term care insurance monthly benefit amount.
  6. 6Enter any monthly family financial support you can rely on.
  7. 7Enter the total savings you're willing to allocate for care.
  8. 8Enter the emergency reserve you want to protect and not spend on care.
  9. 9Review the outputs showing your total projected cost, annual costs, all offsets, your spendable care savings, net cost after offsets, and your monthly funding gap to determine next steps.
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