Putting off investigating Long-Term Care insurance (LTCi) is easy to do. Common reasons people choose not to purchase this type of coverage are “I’m too young”, “it’s expensive” or “I won’t need it”. Many are misled to believe their insurance will cover this type of care. By putting off this important part of your long-term financial plan you may not end up having the care choices you would like and investments may not return the amount required to pay for the care you need. By using an LTCi policy you can solve these issues.
When the times comes and you are in need of some assistance who is going to help? Family, friends or neighbor? Or will you hire someone to cook, clean and help you out around the home? Now, how will you pay for that assistance? If you plan to pay out-of-pocket, it might be hard to get the quality of care you need because it may cost more than you can afford. This is one of the top reasons people buy LTCi. You are more likely to access care more quickly with LTCi because the insurance company will pay for the care you need.
Many children today are trying to care for their aging parents. It is a Nobel thing to do but in all reality when the time comes the children don’t have the time, and if they do they can’t afford to take time off of work. Caring for an aging parent is extremely difficult and can be mentally, physically and financially devastating. “An estimated 43.5 million adults in the United States have provided unpaid care to an adult or a child in the prior 12 months.”* Caregivers often put themselves at risk of becoming depressed or becoming injured while trying to care for their parents. Choosing to plan early and purchase an LTCi policy allows for children to come and visit their parents and enjoy their time together and not be burdened by trying to care for them.
You have worked so hard for everything you have attained. And protecting what you have is a big concern for most families. “About 75% of all single people and 50% of all couples spend their entire savings within one year of entering a nursing home.”** LTCi is not only there to help pay for your care, it is an asset protection strategy that you can put in place to protect your family.
* AARP-Caregiving in the U.S. studies.
**U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website, 2011