Why check eligibility and residential-home costs together?
When a parent feels unsafe living alone but has no long-term-care grade, residential homes and nursing homes can be easy to confuse.
This calculator covers residential homes and residential group homes under Korean older-person welfare legislation.
It checks free, subsidized and full-pay admission pathways separately, then organizes actual quotes into a household budget.
The aim is to help families check available support before signing an expensive contract or overlooking a potentially relevant subsidized pathway.
The main features are independent pathway checks, a per-person income comparison, monthly and annual budgeting, first-month cash requirements, and an exportable preparation worksheet.
Potentially meeting conditions does not confirm admission.
Capacity, actual health and daily-living conditions, family-support capacity, income assessment, subsidy decisions and contract terms require municipal or facility confirmation.
Use the worksheet to prepare for a discussion, whether you are arranging your own residence or helping a parent.
Korea 2026 rules, KRW and one person
This page uses Korean 2026 rules and completed age on the assessment date.
It does not prefill unverified official income statistics or market prices.
Unknown data stays unknown.
Selecting an accompanying spouse does not double the budget or automatically extend support; the spouse needs separate conditions and charges confirmed.
Residential homes, nursing homes and senior communities
A residential home provides accommodation, meals and other daily-living conveniences.
A residential group home provides a home-like residential environment and similar conveniences.
A nursing group home belongs to a different care setting despite the similar name.
Ask for the registered statutory facility type instead of relying on an advertising name.
Different Korean residential and care settings and their treatment in this calculator| Setting | Check first | Calculator treatment |
|---|
| Residential home/group home | Daily living, age, benefits, family support and income | Free/subsidized/full-pay conditions and entered quotes |
| Nursing home | LTC recognition and facility-benefit conditions | Enter an actual patient quote or the separate calculator result |
| Senior community | Actual facility type, contract and deposit | Monthly quote only; long-term asset comparison is separate |
An LTC grade is not a required input for this residential-home assessment.
If medical treatment or continuous care is needed, first discuss appropriate care and feasible settings before comparing price.
A senior-community marketing label alone does not establish a legal facility type, admission condition or subsidy scheme.
Common requirements, ages 65 and 60, and spouses
Daily living must not be impaired
Enforcement Rule Article 14(1)(1) places a daily-living requirement on all three residential-home pathways.
Age or living alone does not automatically satisfy it.
An unknown answer leaves the check pending; a negative answer means the current inputs do not meet this common condition.
Discuss the actual support needed with the facility.
65 for supported pathways; 60 for full pay
The free pathways concern people aged 65 or older receiving livelihood benefits or Medical Aid, or not receiving adequate support from legally responsible family.
The subsidized pathway also requires age 65 or older and an income check.
A facility collecting the entire admission cost from the resident has the age-60 full-pay pathway.
The two free-admission grounds are alternatives, not cumulative requirements.
Having children does not prove adequate support, and having no children does not replace the municipal assessment.
Housing benefits, education benefits or the basic pension alone are not the specific livelihood-benefit/Medical Aid ground.
The calculator does not reject an independently indicated free ground merely because an entered income figure exceeds the subsidized threshold.
Accompanying-spouse age exception
Article 14(2) permits an eligible principal resident to enter with a spouse under 65; for the full-pay pathway the provision concerns a spouse under 60.
This concerns an accompanying spouse, not a lower age for the principal applying independently.
An applicant aged 59 cannot pass the independent full-pay age check just by selecting spouse accompaniment.
Confirm the spouse’s daily-living conditions, support arrangements and separate contract charges with the facility.
Per-person income for subsidized admission
The statutory comparison
Applicant-side per-person income = combined monthly income of the applicant and legally responsible family sharing their livelihood ÷ relevant household members
Reference threshold = prior-year urban-worker household monthly income ÷ prior-year average household members
The income condition uses an inclusive at-or-below comparison.
Equality is included, but two amounts that merely look equal after rounding are not necessarily equal.
The model compares cross-products corresponding to unrounded values and rounds only the displayed KRW amounts.
For an income assessment in 2026, the previous statistical year is 2025.
Do not combine an income figure with household size from another population, or substitute median-income or a housing-application table for a particular household size.
Verify the year, urban-worker population, average members and the applicant-side income scope with the municipality.
The input definition does not mean adding every separately living child’s income automatically.
Select confirmed evidence and enter its source and verification date before the calculator treats the income condition as confirmed.
Figures without a source or date can still illustrate the threshold, but the subsidized eligibility result stays pending.
A different statistical year or assumed evidence also leaves eligibility pending.
A positive threshold-minus-income margin means room below the reference; a negative margin means an excess.
The margin is not a subsidy amount or benefit payment.
How to use the inputs and save a consultation worksheet
- Date, facility and age: Enter the discussion date, completed age on that date and statutory facility type.
A date outside 2026 requires a rules recheck.
- Daily living, benefits and support: Select each independently.
Leave unknown information unknown instead of guessing yes or no.
- Income evidence: Enter actual combined income and household members, prior-year urban-worker household income and average members, plus year, source and check date.
Average household members accept up to three decimal places.
- Personal quotes: Separate the final post-support base charge, nonduplicated extras and refundable deposit.
If there are no extras, enter a verified zero rather than leaving the field blank.
- Comparable service scope: Match housing, meals and care across quotes.
A nursing-home or senior-community quote alone does not establish comparable scope; differences remain unknown until you confirm it.
- Save the discussion record: Review the pathway explanations and checklist, then save a TXT worksheet or print it.
The file contains age and income, so share it only with appropriate recipients.
Numeric fields retain the text being edited and commit when you leave the field.
Blank income and blank costs are different from verified zero.
Invalid dates or evidence dates after the assessment date must be corrected before using the results.
The optional fictional example explains the arithmetic; it is not a provider recommendation or a source of average prices.
Separate recurring costs from refundable deposits
Admission charges and personal spending
Article 15-2 assigns the statutory admission cost entirely to national/local government for the two free grounds, partly to government for the subsidized ground, and entirely to the resident for the full-pay ground.
It does not supply a universal percentage here for every subsidized quote.
Enter the actual charge after support.
Free admission does not eliminate personal medical or supply costs, so the free row has a separate personal-extras field.
First-month cash versus expenses
Monthly cost is base plus nonduplicated extras, and annual cost is monthly cost multiplied by 12.
First-month cash adds the refundable deposit once; annual expenses do not include it.
Nonrefundable entry fees, moving costs, deposit interest and refund risk are outside this simple recurring-cost comparison and need a separate budget.
Unknown quote evidence blocks totals even when numbers are entered.
Assumed evidence yields an assumed budget, while confirmed evidence with a date yields a confirmed-quote budget.
Both base and extras must be known for monthly/annual totals.
If only the deposit is unknown, only first-month cash remains unknown.
The annual calculation assumes unchanged monthly costs; later price increases, support changes and partial-month billing require the actual contract.
Worked fictional example: income and monthly quotes
These figures are an arithmetic exercise, not official income statistics or market prices.
Assume age 70, unimpaired daily living, and neither the specified benefit nor inadequate-support free ground.
Applicant-side income of KRW 4,500,000 divided by 3 people is KRW 1,500,000.
A fictional urban-worker household income of KRW 6,000,000 divided by an average of 3 gives a KRW 2,000,000 threshold and a KRW 500,000 margin.
Because the example evidence is assumed, subsidized eligibility remains pending.
Fictional one-person monthly and annual quotes, refundable deposits and first-month cash, all in KRW| Fictional quote | Monthly | Annual | Deposit | First-month cash |
|---|
| Free-path personal spending reference | 100,000 | 1,200,000 | 0 | 100,000 |
| Subsidized 700,000 + extras 100,000 | 800,000 | 9,600,000 | 0 | 800,000 |
| Full-pay 1,800,000 + extras 100,000 | 1,900,000 | 22,800,000 | 10,000,000 | 11,900,000 |
| Nursing home 1,000,000 + extras 100,000 | 1,100,000 | 13,200,000 | 0 | 1,100,000 |
| Senior community 2,200,000 + extras 100,000 | 2,300,000 | 27,600,000 | 20,000,000 | 22,300,000 |
With matched service scope, nursing-home minus subsidized monthly cost is KRW 300,000, and senior-community minus subsidized cost is KRW 1,500,000.
These are arithmetic quote differences, not approved admission or guaranteed savings.
The free row can still show a personal-spending reference even when the free grounds are unmet, so read the eligibility cards alongside the money table.
Changing applicant-side income to KRW 6,000,000 gives equality; KRW 6,000,001 divided by 3 exceeds the threshold even when whole-KRW rounding makes the display look equal.
Using the results in different family situations
A parent aged 65+ receiving the specified benefits
Confirm daily-living conditions and prepare to discuss the free pathway.
The Rule waives attached reasons and related evidence for the specified livelihood-benefit/Medical Aid recipients, so first ask the receiving office which application form is required.
Keep personal medicines, appointments and supplies separate from supported admission costs.
No specified benefits, but family support is insufficient
Check the inadequate-support free ground and the subsidized-income pathway independently.
Do not abandon a free-path discussion merely because relatives exist or decide the assessed income scope solely from resident-registration membership.
Ask the municipality what demonstrates actual support and capacity; keep unanswered fields as a consultation question list.
Age 60–64 or admission with a spouse
For an independent applicant, check the full-pay age pathway first.
The accompanying-spouse provision is separate from the principal age requirement and requires the relevant relationship and principal admission.
Do not copy one person’s eligibility or quote to both people.
Get written per-person room, meal and deposit terms.
Free applications and subsidized/full-pay contracts
Article 15(2) provides a municipal application route for the two free grounds.
The specified benefit recipients do not attach the statement of reasons and related evidence; the inadequate-support route should check those documents.
Article 15(3) provides review of health and family-support capacity and notification within ten days of application for that free-application procedure.
It is not a promised move-in date, a waiting-list guarantee or a processing period for every full-pay contract.
- Free: confirm identity/application requirements, route-specific reasons and evidence, and the attachment exemption with the receiving office.
- Subsidized: confirm applicant-side income scope, prior-year urban-worker statistics, support status and the actual post-support charge, then arrange the facility contract.
- Full-pay: verify daily living, age, capacity, room/meals/conveniences, extra charges and exit settlement in writing.
- Accompanying spouse: separately confirm the age exception, daily-living conditions, support and per-person charges.
Article 15(5) makes subsidized and full-pay admission subject to a contract between the parties.
Consulting the municipality about subsidized income or support does not make that route identical to the statutory free application.
Article 15(4) also provides annual reassessment of family-support capacity for the inadequate-support free ground, so subsequent changes may need review after initial admission.
Practical limits and costs that are easy to miss
Match services before comparing prices
Equal prices can buy different meal, laundry, mobility and care services.
Adding meals again when they are included inflates the budget; excluding personal medical costs can leave too little cash.
Mark inclusions and exclusions on each facility quote.
Confirm whether a nursing-home comparison already includes applicable LTC patient charges.
This calculator does not apply LTC fees or reductions again.
Evidence dates cannot be later than the assessment date.
Selecting confirmed does not mean the calculator has verified authenticity or continued validity; reconfirm changed prices and support terms before signing.
A low recurring charge can still require substantial initial cash because of the deposit.
Refund timing, safeguards and loss risk are not resolved by monthly arithmetic.
Use the separate senior-community-versus-home calculator when you need a longer-term asset comparison.
The output does not determine admission approval, subsidy decisions, waiting order or duration, clinical suitability or tax credits.
For 2027 or later, recheck amendments and the relevant prior-year statistics.
Do not use current rules alone to establish historical entitlement retroactively.
If actual advice differs from this worksheet, first compare assessment dates, applicable provisions and evidence scope.
Frequently asked questions
Can I consider a residential home without an LTC grade?
Yes, this assessment concerns residential homes/group homes, separate from the LTC facility-benefit calculator.
Confirm the common daily-living condition and each age/pathway requirement; the facility and municipality make the actual admission checks.
Does a basic pension or housing benefit alone make admission free?
Those are not the specific livelihood-benefit or Medical Aid ground.
Inadequate family support is another free pathway to discuss, but do not relabel a different benefit as one of the specified benefits.
Does exactly equal income satisfy the subsidized condition?
The Article 14 comparison includes equality.
The screen rounds to whole KRW but the condition uses unrounded values.
In the example, KRW 6,000,001 divided by 3 is greater than a KRW 2,000,000 threshold.
Which statistical year applies to a 2026 assessment?
Use the previous year, 2025, for urban-worker household monthly income and average household members.
The calculator does not invent a fixed reference value; confirm the statistical population and household scope with the municipality.
Does free admission make every monthly expense zero?
Government responsibility for the statutory admission cost under Article 15-2 is separate from personal medical and supply spending.
The free row adds verified personal extras to zero admission cost.
Unknown extras mean the full monthly budget remains unknown.
Is the subsidized procedure the same municipal application as free admission?
Article 15(2)–(3) covers the two free grounds.
Subsidized and full-pay admission use a contract under paragraph 5.
Verify subsidized income/support with the municipality and then prepare the facility contract.
Can a spouse under 60 accompany an eligible resident?
Article 14(2) has an age exception for an accompanying spouse.
It does not replace the principal applicant’s independent age requirement.
The spouse’s daily living, support and charges still need separate confirmation.
How are deposits and unknown values handled?
A refundable deposit is added only to first-month cash, not annual expenses.
Blank/unknown is different from verified zero.
If only the deposit is missing, monthly and annual costs can calculate while first-month cash stays pending.
Official sources, updates and your next discussion
Sources were checked directly through the National Law Information OPEN API on 2026-10-20.
The Welfare of Older Persons Act is MST290133, promulgated 2026-09-29 and effective 2026-10-02.
Its Enforcement Rule is MST282119, promulgated and effective 2025-12-29.
The model uses Act Article 32 and Rule Articles 14, 15 and 15-2; it does not invent case law, prices or a national subsidized copay percentage.
Future reviews must recheck amendments and effective dates, actual prior-year statistics, municipal support findings, facility capacity, spouse conditions and written quotes.
Update saved amounts when support-adjusted charges or deposit-refund terms change.
Bring verified information to the discussion
Enter actual evidence above and save the pathway explanations together with unresolved questions.
For free admission, discuss the municipal application; for subsidized admission, verify income/support and then the facility contract; for full pay, verify the actual contract.
Use the related calculators for LTC care costs or a longer-term asset comparison.