Assisted living community living edged out professional at-home care and nursing home care as the paid long-term care option of choice for US middle class retirees who predicted in a recent survey what they would do if they needed activities of daily living assistance or nursing care. The majority of respondents, however, said they plan to rely on unpaid care provided by family and friends if they have such needs, according to results released Wednesday.
The findings were contained in a report, “The Retirement Outlook of the American Middle Class,” released by the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and the Transamerica Institute. The report was based on the results of a 25-minute online survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the Transamerica Institute between Sept. 14 and Oct. 23, 2023. The nationally representative sample of 10,002 people included 5,726 people with annual household incomes of $50,000 to $199,999, the income range that the Transamerica Institute and TCRS used to define the middle class.
Of respondents planning to rely on family and friends for help with ADLs or care, 37% said they would depend on a spouse, 30% said they hope to count on other family members, and 4% said they plan to rely on friends.
Among paid options, 28% of respondents overall said they plan to move to an assisted living community, 27% said they plan to use a professional in-home caregiver, and 11% said they plan to move to a nursing home.
TCRS said that the findings generally were consistent among middle class retirees, with the exception being that retirees with annual household incomes of $100,000 to $199,000 were more likely than those with annual household incomes of $50,000 to $99,000 to plan to use a professional in-home caregiver (33% and 23%, respectively).
In other income breakdowns, 26% for those whose annual household incomes were $50,000 to $99,000 said that they would move to an assisted living community if their health declined and they needed assistance or care, and the rate was 29% for those with annual household incomes of $100,000 to $199,000.
Nine percent of those whose annual household incomes were in the lower dollar range said that they would move to a nursing home if their health declined and they needed assistance or care, and the rate was 13% for those with annual household incomes in the higher bracket.
The study also found that only 13% of middle-class retirees are “very confident” that they will be able to afford long-term care, if needed. Forty-six percent said that they are “somewhat confident,” 25% said they are “not too confident,” and 16% said they are “not at all confident.”
Retirees with annual household incomes of $100,000 to $199,000 were more likely than those with incomes of $50,000 to $99,000 to be “very confident” (18% and 10%, respectively). Conversely, retirees with annual household incomes in the lower range were more likely than those with household incomes in the higher bracket to be “not at all confident” (20% and 10%, respectively).
Twenty-three percent of respondents overall said they do not have long-term care plans. The rate was 25% for those whose household incomes were $50,000 to $99,000 and 19% for those whose household incomes were $100,000 to $199,000.
The entire report is available for download here.
