Family First, Paid Help Close By: India, Thailand and the Philippines
He has been wondering about growing old in Asia, where he has read that families look after their own.
Picture a man named Cecil, 69. His children live in Ohio and Texas. He has been wondering about growing old in Asia, where he has read that families look after their own.
He called his daughter in Ohio. "In those countries the children usually do the caring," she said.
"Mine are far away," Cecil said. Afterward he looked up what a paid helper costs.
In another piece I shared what I heard in India: a person looks after what he can, and the government looks after what he cannot. The family half has good support in the surveys. India's national survey of 2017-18 found that about two in three people 60 and older live with their children. In Thailand, a 2014 survey of older persons found that spouses and children are about 90% of the main caregivers. For the Philippines, no official data on who older people live with appears in the sources.
Families also hire help. Here are prices from the sources. They come from sellers of care or from guides written for foreigners, so they are reported quotes. They are not statistics, and the three lists are not like for like.
| Place | Type of help | Reported price a month |
|---|---|---|
| India (Bangalore provider) | Assisted living | Rs 30,000 to 50,000 |
| India | 24-hour live-in care at home | Rs 45,000 to 65,000 |
| Thailand (Bangkok agency, via a guide for foreigners) | 24-hour live-in caregiver | THB 3,500 a day, about THB 105,000 (about US$3,100) |
| Thailand | Retirement home | From about THB 52,000 (about US$1,550) |
| Philippines (a clinic directory) | Live-in caregiver, all in | PHP 9,000 to 12,000 (about US$143 to 191) |
| Philippines | Nursing home or assisted living, basic | PHP 15,000 to 60,000 (about US$239 to 956) |
Dollar figures use the 6 October 2026 rate of 33.61 baht and 62.75 pesos to the dollar. We did not apply a rate to the rupee figures. The Philippine page itself says there is no official price list.
Health cover differs too. In the Philippines, a 2014 law, signed in November of that year, put all people 60 and older under the national health insurer, PhilHealth. In India, only about 18% of people 60 and older had any health insurance in 2017-18. A scheme extended in October 2024 offers people 70 and older cover of up to 5 lakh rupees a year, and about 93 lakh cards had been issued by December 2025.
You could…
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Ask two or three local providers for a written quote that says how many hours are covered.
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Ask who covers the helper's days off.
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Ask how the country's health cover treats a foreign resident, since the sources do not say.
What did a paid helper cost where you have lived, and what did the price cover? Share it here. Someone reading may be comparing a quote from home.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Sources: Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (2017-18); Parliament of India reply, December 2025; Samarth Elder Care (2026); Thailand 2014 Survey of Older Persons; thailandstarterkit.com (21 September 2026); ClinicFinderPH (25 September 2026); PhilHealth; Sweldo PH (2026); Xe currency tables (6 October 2026).
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