Long Term Care Insurance

The Role of Long-Term Care Insurance

The use of long-term care insurance thus becomes an important part of planning for disability caused by living a long life. The product has two roles: helping keep families together and allowing your retirement portfolio to execute for the purpose for which it was intended, namely retirement.

From a family perspective, think about who will be providing your care. Like it or not, children will play a key role. Long-term care insurance (LTCI) doesn't replace the need for family involvement in providing care but rather builds on it. It pays professionals to assist the person with the toughest tasks such as toileting, bathing, feeding and continence. This, in turn, allows the family to provide care better and longer at home. That leads to a critical question: have YOU planned for the consequences of living a long life?

From a financial point of view, LTCI allows your retirement plan to stay intact. That is particularly important given the recent steep decline in portfolio value. The product, in effect protects the balance of your account value. LTCI also protects income. Although you may qualify for Medicaid to pay for nursing home costs by transferring assets, your income (pension, social security, IRA and or 401(k) payout) cannot be protected. In addition, IRA's and other retirement plans can be used to fund new long-term care plans that promise to return premiums if you stay well.

When buying this insurance, look for a long-term care specialist. Consider their training, educational credentials and commitment to help solve your long-term care needs. The key is whether they talk first about a plan or a product. If they are interested in the plan, you are dealing with a professional. He should be familiar with all the options available including the new asset based plans that guarantee premiums and can return all payments if the insurance isn't used.

Long Term Care Insurance

Fox News reports that 3 out of every 4 people will end up needing long term care. When people consider the subject of long-term care insurance, they often think about nursing homes. In fact, long-term care has little to do with nursing homes. Understanding the difference can help you protect your family and finances.

The Consequences of Living Longer

Long-term care is a continuum of care services and housing you will need when you live a long life. Think you won't live a long life? Think back 25 years ago. If you had cancer, or a stroke, you simply died. Few ever heard of Alzheimer's. Today it is the leading cause for long-term care services. The longer you live, the more likely you are to need care. The question is not who will take care of you, because your family will most often, but rather what providing that care will do to your family and finances.

Long-Term Care is Usually Custodial Care

Long-term care is defined as needing assistance with your activities of daily living (toileting, bathing, dressing, eating, transferring from one point to another and continence). It also includes cognitive impairment so severe that the individual needs constant supervision.

If you need custodial care, chances are it will be delivered in the community, not in a nursing home. Many of you have heard compelling statistics from The New England Journal of Medicine stating that 43% of those over age 65 will need nursing home care. What the article actually said is that that number may spend some time in a facility. The fact is, few end their days in one.

Every study conducted finds that care is overwhelmingly provided at home. The key question, of course, is who is going to pay for it?

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