Long Term Care Insurance

One aspect of retirement planning is making sure that you have enough financial means to sustain your desired lifestyle once you retire. It also involves protecting your nest-egg from risks and losses that can result from unexpected expenses such as Long-term care.

According to a Fidelity Investments report on health -care expensive in retirement, the average couple aged 65 will spend approximately $240,000 during their retirement years on out-of-pocket expenses such as deductibles or prescriptions that aren't covered by Medicare of retiree health insurance. That doesn't include possible Long Term Care expenses that an estimate 70% of all retirees will requite during retirement!*

In addition, as an estimated 10,000 Baby Boomers daily join the ranks of those called retirees*, it's apparent that outdated and commonly used Long Term Care statistics are unreliable, but the damaging effect of future Long Term Care cost is undeniable. Bank accounts get drained, CDs cashed, reverse mortgages are opened and as a last step in preparing for Medicaid welfare spend-down, assets are sold or shifted to close family members.

The growing need for Long Term Care is rooted in the modern day increasing life expectancy. Consider that just 100 years ago average life expectancy was less than 50 and today its north of 80 and climbing. When is it "too late"? It's any time after the have lost heir own "good health" and want to purchase quality medically underwritten Long Term Care insurance.

What would be the answers to these tough questions:

1. Do you really want to place the emotional and physical burden of long-term care on your family and loved ones?

2. What would happen to your health if your spouse developed Alzheimer's and made it impossible for you to sleep?

3. Would your children be able to take care of you? If so, would the be sufficiently trained to give you adequate care?

4. How would you fell if you needed care and the resulting expensive left your spouse impoverished?

5. Which of you children can most afford to quit their job and neglect their own family to care of you?

6. Which of you children is best able to pay for all or part of you care?

7. Do you think there could be a conflict among your children when they must decide who will be the primary caregiver?

8. If you son must bathe you, how will that affect your relationship with him?

9. Does the idea of being unable to hire help frighten you?

10. Did you know that Medicaid does not allow you to choose where and how your care will be provided?

Contact your local independent agency for more information on Long Term Care.

*Long-term care planning too vital to ignore. Market Watch, published July 15, 2013

* Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), writing in The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2014

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