A guide for your 70s
What I wish I knew in my 70s about long-term care
Coverage gets harder to get each year in your 70s, but it is not always out of reach. The sooner you ask, the more options you have, and every option is better with a written plan.
The problem, in numbers
What long-term care really looks like.
What we are hearing
You know where you want to be.
Findings from the 2026 Staying Power Planning Report.
People in their 70s are the largest group in the Planning Report.
Half of the people in the Planning Report are 70 or older. You are not late to this conversation.4
Home is the first choice by a wide margin.
In the Planning Report, 70% of people in their 70s want to stay right where they are. Among those with a funding plan, 43% plan to use savings.4
Many are counting on Medicare.
Some people in the Planning Report expect Medicare to pay, and it is one of the most-asked questions. Medicare does not cover long-term custodial care.4, 5
“I never want our children to have to be… in a state of grief.”
“Just give me a human.”
Looking back
Five things I wish I had known in my 70s.
From people a decade or two down the road, and the numbers behind them.
Medicare is not long-term care.
62% of adults 50 and older think Medicare pays for a long-term nursing home stay.6 It does not. Medicare covers up to 100 days of skilled care, with $217 a day due from day 21.7
Savings need a strategy, not just a balance.
Home care runs about $80,080 a year at the national median, and a private nursing home room about $129,575.1 Know which money is set aside for care.
The spend-down is real.
Medicaid pays for long-term care only after savings fall to about $2,000 for an individual in most states.2 A plan protects what you want to keep.
Family care is a full-time job.
Family caregivers of people 50+ now average 26 hours a week for about five years.8 Paid help lets family stay family.
Some coverage may still be possible.
Insurers turned down 50% of applicants aged 70 to 74 in 2024, and 66% at 75 to 79.9 That also means half were not. If coverage is possible for you, it is most possible today.
Your next steps
Three moves to make this week.
Book a call to check what is still available.
A licensed advisor can tell you quickly whether coverage is an option for you, and point you to other resources if it is not.
Put your wishes in writing.
A health care directive and a durable power of attorney. An elder law attorney can help you complete both.
Share the plan with your family.
Tell the people closest to you where you want to live and who you want making decisions with you.
Book your call
Ask before another birthday.
Book a call with a licensed Staying Power advisor. We will tell you plainly what you can still get, and help you plan either way.
Bring your partner.
Most people we talk to decide together. Your partner is welcome on the call.
Leave with it in writing.
A plain side-by-side of what you pay, what is guaranteed and what is projected.
Costs where you live.
Care prices for your area, not national averages.
No hard sell.
One licensed advisor, no pressure to decide on the call.