This is a great question, Should you have Long-Term Care Insurance. If you look at the statistics, you have a greater than 50% chance of needing Long-Term care services which tend to be very expensive. Can you depend on your family to take care of you or are you better off getting a product which gives you the flexibility to pay for the services you need when you need them?
Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance is expensive so be sure to understand what your needs may be and when you the insurance becomes available. There are now many "hybrid" products available which provide some LTC at a fraction of the cost but may have limitations.
Be sure to talk to your Broker or a Broker who understands the limitations on LTC and any of the "hybrid" products.
President, Lane Independent Agency, Southern California
Of course you should, but what about that cost? It is high for most, but there is a way to get it for free! Yes free. There is a life insurance policy that provides living benefits for disability, chronic care and terminal care, absolutely FREE. It is from America's second oldest insurance company. I would love to discuss this new policy with anyone, anywhere. Love to hear from you and to assist you with all the details. You no longer have to pay for that expensive long term care policy, yet feel protected with your own live insurance with these living benefits. Thank you. Gary Lane. 714 422 9616.
Long Term Care Insurance is recommended for those having considerable assets. If you needed to go to a nursing home or assisted living facility, or receive home health care to assist you with your activities of daily living (dressing, eating, bathing, etc), those institutions can go after your savings and investments while you are alive (if your spouse is alive, he/she can keep half), and even take the proceeds from your home after you and your spouse die. If you have very little in the way of assets, long term care insurance is an unnecessary expense. But if you have assets you would like to protect, and can afford the premium, having long term care insurance is an excellent tool in planning your future, preserving your peace of mind, and paying the bills if needed.
And a word about life insurance policies with living benefits. I am all in favor of them, but you do need to consider how much is "enough" when purchasing life insurance that you may want to use if you can no longer care for yourself. Nursing home costs average nearly $80,000 per year, nationally, for a semi-private room. Someone wanting to hire a round the clock caregiver in their home can expect to pay over $175,000 per year ($20 per hour). It can be expensive to buy a permanent life insurance policy with face amounts large enough to cover even a couple years of care. Just be sure you understand how much of the life insurance face amount is available to you, what triggers it takes to get it, and when you can get it. Then compare it to the price of buying long term care insurance providing comparable benefits.
That is a great question! While it is true that at some point the majority of us will need some form of long term care, buying a policy might not be necessary. Many insurers have learned that these policies ate far more profits than they'd planned, and so they either dropped the policy line altogether, or they scaled back benefits, and raised the prices. In many cases, to the point where they may not really be an affordable option for Elder Citizens.
There are insurance policies and annuities that make promises to pay extra for a certain amount of time to cover your LTC needs, but they really need to be looked at carefully, as they often aren't as generous as they first appear.
The best solution comes from (believe it or not) our Government, that enacted a law in 2006 that went into effect in 2010 that allows for any structured payments (annuities, 401k payments, etc.) that are used solely for LTC expenses to be tax free. So it may be that your best option is to fund some retirement accounts, or purchase an annuity or two, and earmark them specifically for that purpose. Depending upon your age, and the amount that you are able to fund, this may be a more affordable option over the long haul, and one that protects your retirement income. It may be beneficial for you to talk this over with a trusted adviser to weigh out which option is best for you. I hope that helps, thanks for asking!
If you have assets/inheritance that you want to pass on then you need to plan for the cost of long term care. A long term care policy is one way to do this. Whole life and Annuity products with a long term care rider have been increasing in popularity as you can get the benefit without losing your investment if you don't end up needing it. Short term care policies are also growing in popularity as they are cheaper and can cover the first 2 years of long term care. Keep in mind that Medicare does not cover long term care and Medicaid will require you to lose your assets before it will help cover the cost and you will be limited to facilities that accept Medicaid.
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Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance is expensive so be sure to understand what your needs may be and when you the insurance becomes available. There are now many "hybrid" products available which provide some LTC at a fraction of the cost but may have limitations.
Be sure to talk to your Broker or a Broker who understands the limitations on LTC and any of the "hybrid" products.
And a word about life insurance policies with living benefits. I am all in favor of them, but you do need to consider how much is "enough" when purchasing life insurance that you may want to use if you can no longer care for yourself. Nursing home costs average nearly $80,000 per year, nationally, for a semi-private room. Someone wanting to hire a round the clock caregiver in their home can expect to pay over $175,000 per year ($20 per hour). It can be expensive to buy a permanent life insurance policy with face amounts large enough to cover even a couple years of care. Just be sure you understand how much of the life insurance face amount is available to you, what triggers it takes to get it, and when you can get it. Then compare it to the price of buying long term care insurance providing comparable benefits.
There are insurance policies and annuities that make promises to pay extra for a certain amount of time to cover your LTC needs, but they really need to be looked at carefully, as they often aren't as generous as they first appear.
The best solution comes from (believe it or not) our Government, that enacted a law in 2006 that went into effect in 2010 that allows for any structured payments (annuities, 401k payments, etc.) that are used solely for LTC expenses to be tax free. So it may be that your best option is to fund some retirement accounts, or purchase an annuity or two, and earmark them specifically for that purpose. Depending upon your age, and the amount that you are able to fund, this may be a more affordable option over the long haul, and one that protects your retirement income. It may be beneficial for you to talk this over with a trusted adviser to weigh out which option is best for you. I hope that helps, thanks for asking!