Most of us are likely familiar with elderly friends and family who are struggling financially with the costs of assisted living, and as the population ages this problem is likely to get worse, not better. What the mainstream media misses, however, is that the real culprit is years of falling interest rates which results in capital being consumed faster than it can be produced. The collapse of defined benefit pensions is but one side effect, and this won’t be remedied by having the state assume responsibility for everyone’s retirement.

Millions of families are facing such daunting life choices — and potential financial ruin — as the escalating costs of in-home care, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes devour the savings and incomes of older Americans and their relatives.

“People are exposed to the possibility of depleting almost all their wealth,” said Richard W. Johnson, director of the program on retirement policy at the Urban Institute.

The prospect of dying broke looms as an imminent threat for the boomer generation, which vastly expanded the middle class and looked hopefully toward a comfortable retirement on the backbone of 401(k)s and pensions. Roughly 10,000 of them will turn 65 every day until 2030, expecting to live into their 80s and 90s as the price tag for long-term care explodes, outpacing inflation and reaching a half-trillion dollars a year, according to federal researchers.