How Does LTCi Protect Young Families?

How Does LTCi Protect Young Families? By Susan P. Payne How Does LTCi protect young families? Every day many people of all ages experience a significant change in health status. How would it impact your family if a sudden unexpected accident or illness happened? Are you prepared to handle the cost associated with long-term care? Needing long term care help is a family issue. What will happen to saving for the kids college? Your retirement? Your finances? Planning for a secure future can be possible with integrating Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi) protection planning.

LTCi is important, yet overlooked by many. It is the day-to-day help you need when a serious illness, injury or disability makes you physically or cognitively unable to care for yourself for a long period of time. This type of care is usually provided at home, in an assisted living facility, adult day care or, lastly, in a nursing home. No one ever wants to think about a catastrophic illness or an accident like a broken leg or hip. Close your eyes and think about what life would be like with a broken hip. You could not walk, bathe or dress yourself. You would need someone to assist you in your normal activities of daily living. Could you depend on your family? Would you spouse have to miss work? Would the kids need to miss school or their sporting events?

How will having a Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi) plan help you and your family? 1. Protects your independence,live how you want, where you want

2. Protects your family from the potential burden of being your caretaker

3. Protect your savings, college funds and retirement plans from the high cost of long term care

4. Many plans will pay for home health care providers, home health aides and caregivers, giving you freedom to choose what makes you comfortable.

Why does someone my age need to think about long-term care? Today you are healthy. But 24-hours from now, things can change. Many illnesses, once considered to be life threatening, are now life altering with the medical advances in place today. Many now leave you ‘disabled’ relying on others for care, sometimes for short periods of time, sometimes for life. Long term care protection requires you to “health qualify”. No matter how much you would be willing to pay, a change in health can make it impossible for you to health qualify for long term care insurance. For individuals who are currently young and in good health, you have the possibility of locking in “preferred rates” for your lifetime. Cost for insurance can be significantly lower at younger ages so you will save money! You lock in savings and you can never be canceled even if your health changes. You may benefit now and again later as many people need and use their benefits when they are young and again when they are older.

How does LTCi protect young families? Because things can change tomorrow, now is the right time!

LCTi Myth: I Cannot Afford Long-Term Care Insurance

As the title of this says, the belief that you cannot afford long-term care insurance is nothing more than a myth. The truth of the matter is that everyone can afford long-term care insurance, and everyone who is interested in retirement planning should. The premiums are not high when they are compared with the long-term care cost that families, or the individual, will have to incur over the course of the long-term care life.

If you are worried that you cannot afford long-term care insurance, then start getting the premiums as early as you can. There is nothing wrong with a 30-year-old doing retirement planning. In fact, the younger you are, the lower your premiums are. Often, a 30-year-old will pay $100 or more less than a senior citizen will in their monthly insurance premiums to pay for their long-term care insurance. The types of young individuals who take the initiative to start retirement planning understand the long-term care cost they may have to pay for without the insurance, and they understand that nearly half of all those who use long-term care services are not over the age of 65.

Long-term care is incredibly important and an individual should make the effort to afford long-term care insurance because it will make things easier, financially speaking, on their family and themselves. Costs can run as high as $5,000 per month for long-term care, and without long-term care insurance, an individual’s savings can disappear very quickly.

For the cost of cable television or monthly payments on that exercise machine you bought but never use, you can afford to pay your insurance premiums on your long-term care plan. There is no reason you cannot afford long-term care insurance when you make the effort to cut back on non-essentials. There is nothing more essential than making sure you have the money to get the long-term care you need in case you need help with your day-to-day activities.

Do not think that you will only need it when you are 80. Your life can change in an instant, and even at the young age of 40 you can require long-term care because of an accident, surgery, or illness. Christopher Reeve was healthy and fit at the age of 41, at the age of 42 he was paralyzed from the neck down because of a fall from a horse. He required long-term care for the rest of his life. If it can happen to Superman, it can happen to anyone.

Conclusion

If you believe the myth that only some can afford long-term care insurance, then you need to give your head a shake. Everyone, even if they have to cut back on that latte every day, can afford long-term care insurance when they make the initiative. Retirement planning for long-term care cost is an effective way of taking your future by the horns and ensuring your family does not have to pay for your care, thereby putting financial stresses on them as well. Everyone can afford long-term care insurance, it is just a matter of whether or not they want to take the initiative and pay for it.

Simplifying Long Term Care

What is Long-Term Care? When people consider the subject of long-term care, 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 that you will need later in 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 will that care 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? Who Covers the Cost?

Medicare & VA

Medicare, the primary health care program for retirees pays only for skilled or rehabilitative care, not custodial care in any venue. Medicaid, a federal and state program for financially needy individuals will pay for custodial care, but primarily in nursing homes. Funding for home care and assisted living is very limited and based on availability of funds. Veterans believe that the VA will pay for home care, adult day care, or assisted living. As with Medicaid, funding is limited and generally based on service-related disability. In fact, the federal government has as much said this to veterans by encouraging them to purchase long-term care insurance through the new Federal Long-Term Care Insurance program. The result is that consumers are forced to pay privately for their care. Unfortunately, the best thought-out retirement plan rarely takes into consideration living a long life. Put another way, those assets and income have been allocated to pay for retirement, not for the consequences of living a long life. This results in the need to invade principal and divert income. As a result, one of a seniors’ greatest fear, outliving their assets, literally may come true.

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, who will provide 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 401k payout) cannot be protected. 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. If they focus first on product and price, consider getting another opinion.

How You Can Use Long Term Care Insurance

Most of us never want to imagine growing old, being sick or needing long term care. But for 70 percent of people, this is something that they have to face. And the sad thing is that many of them are not insured with long term care insurance.

What is long term care insurance? It is an insurance policy that pays for your stay in a nursing facility or long term care facility. As people begin to live longer, the need for long term care facilities has become apparent. For this reason, it is wise for you to purchase long term care insurance.

You can use long term care insurance in many different ways. Some include the following:

After an accident If you have a catastrophic accident, the last thing you need to do is worry about the cost of the medical facility where you are being treated. In most cases, after the danger period is over, you will be transferred to a nursing home or rehabilitation facility. This can be costly and your insurance may only pay a portion for this care.

This is where long term care insurance can benefit you. It can pay what the insurance company does not cover. This way, you will not be paying out of pocket for your care.

After an illness Long term care is not often final care. In many cases, someone recovering from an illness needs nursing care around the clock but is stable enough to be moved from the hospital. In such cases, people are often sent to long term care facilities. Medicare and insurance only cover a portion of these costs. If you cannot pay, you will be forced to go on public aid - after you have sold everything you own. This can be financially devastating to you when you recover.

Long term final care If you get to a point in your life where you have an irreversible condition and need nursing care, you can get a policy that will last over 4 years. This will pay for your care in the final stages of your life and not eat away at your savings. You will not be a burden to your loved ones and will still be able to leave some money to your heirs.

None of us likes to think of these scenarios, but they happen every day. This is why it is so important to consider long term care insurance Long term care insurance can help you in many ways and allow you to retain what you worked so hard to save.

Long Term Care Insurance Essentials

If you want to get a long term care insurance quote, it is essential that you know what is involved. This article will show you six essential factors to take into consideration. If you want an ltci quote, there is so much information you will want to know about so that you can make an informed decision. This information is based upon factors such as what type of benefits you want to receive when using your policy.

A long term care insurance quote is contingent upon many factors and following are some of the points to consider. Your age and what type of benefits will cause your quote to vary.

When you are thinking about long-term care, you need to think about what types of benefits you will want. You can receive in-home service, nursing home care, or community based services to give you an idea.

Your age is going to determine the cost of the policy. If you are younger and buying a policy, you will almost certainly receive a lower premium.

The types of companies you approach for an ltci quote can help determine a different cost in your quote. You may be able to receive this quote through your employer.

The type of policy you choose will cause different quotes. You can choose a policy which will pay a maximum daily, weekly or monthly limit or one which pays up to a certain dollar amount.

The age at which you can start using your benefits will be a question that an insurance agent will ask you.

Daily benefits can also pay a part in the quote you receive from an insurance agent. If you want higher daily benefits, this will cause your ltci quote to be higher.

Hopefully this has given you good information regarding long term care insurance quotes. More information is always better so that you have an idea what to expect and you can have thought through what you want out of your policy.

How Much Long-Term Care Coverage Do I Need?

Long-term care may be needed for yourself, or a loved one, in the future and you need to prepare for that possibility. However, it can be difficult to know exactly how much long-term care they will need in the future, since it is impossible to predict the future. You could end up needing long-term care insurance for a few months following an accident, surgery or illness, or you could need long-term care insurance for years in your old age when you need assistance with day-to-day activities. There is no way to tell how it will be for you.

As a result, you should look at what kind of life you want for yourself in the event you need long-term care. Do you want to have the same financially stable life you currently enjoy, or do you want just enough insurance to get by because you have a large savings? These are the questions you need to ask yourself before you go about getting your long-term care insurance coverage.

Generally, you are not going to want to go with the lowest insurance plan because you may not have those savings forever, and even long-term care insurance will only cover so much if you go with the lowest plan. Before you know it, you could end up with no money left and poor insurance coverage. If your long-term care needs go on for years, you could be in a very difficult situation.

As well, you may choose not to go with the highest priced plan, despite the ample benefits it can provide for you. You may choose to not go with the highest priced plan because of you own financial situation at the time, or because you simply do not want to.

Try to go with a middle of the road long-term care plan that will cover you even if you have savings. This will allow you to have the care you need, without having to dip too much into your savings. This will then allow you to last for quite awhile on your savings. As with anything, the middle-road is often the best option to go with. You will not have to spend too much like you would on the higher plans, but you will gain more coverage than you would on the lower plans. It is all about moderation and having a good savings to go along with your long-term care insurance coverage plan.

Conclusion The world is an uncertain place, and while long-term care insurance can provide you with the assurance you need to know about how your life will play out in the event you need long-term care, finding the right coverage can be difficult. If you have the money, go with the higher-cost coverage plans, the more you pay the more you get and the less you worry. If you don’t have much money, then go with the best plan you can afford. You don’t want the lowest plan but if that is all you can pay for; then take it. A little long-term care insurance coverage will be better than none.

Long Term Care Insurance - 10 Resolutions for 2009

New Year’s Day of course means it’s time for you to make your resolutions for the upcoming year. It’s well documented that the two most common New Year’s resolutions are losing weight and financial type resolutions (debt reduction, pay increase, etc.)

If you are over 40 years of age, now is the time to finally take a serious look at purchasing a long term care insurance policy to protect your assets.

Here are my top 10 resolutions specific to deciding on a long term care insurance policy:

Resolution #1 - Read the LTC Shoppers Guide. This is a great document to give you the basics of long term care insurance. It covers all the basics and helps you understand the many options that are available. Download the Long Term Care Shoppers Guide. 

Resolution #2- Start doing your homework.  The internet has thousands of pages, blogs, advise columns, experts, and government agencies that can help you start your research.  A few of my favorite Long Term Care Insurance providers are Allianz, John Hancock, and Genworth.  These three are top rated companies and provide fantastic individual plans as well as discounts for couples applying together.

Resolution #3 - Review Your Medical Records.  Since the major factor in qualifying for a policy is your current and recent past health history, it’s a good practice to understand what is in your medical file.  Even though you feel healthy, that past ailment you went to see your doctor about may come back to haunt you.  Understanding how your doctor perceived and documented your issues is important.  Policies are underwritten based upon your health and you’ll end up paying more or worse, be denied due to your problems.  Long Term Care Insurance is designed for healthy people.

Resolution #4- Schedule a physcial with your doctor.  Most companies require that you’ve been to see a physician within the past 18 months.  This makes sense even if you aren’t considering a policy.  Don’t be afraid of that doctor (especially the men reading this article).

Resolution #5- Ask your financial planner their view on Long Term Care Insurance.  This is always a good litmus test for your financial planner.  If they are negative on a plan….then I suggest you fire that planner immediately.  Long Term Care isn’t new anymore.  It’s been around for over twenty years and many of the nations top personal financial authorities strongly believe it’s a large piece of your financial planning puzzle.  Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey are big fans of Long Term Care policies.

Resolution #6- Talk with your children/parents.  If you parents are under 80 and haven’t yet purchased a policy, now’s the time to discuss this with them.  You may even have seen your own family torn apart by the catastrophic cost of providing care for a loved one.  Nursing homes and home health care options are expensive if you have to pay out of your pocket.  We all love our parents…of course we’d want to take care of them.  But can we?  The average cost of a nursing facility is over $60,000 per year. 

If you have adult children, let them know you are considering this so you can protect your assets and relieve the stress that they’d be under trying to care for you.

Resolution #7- Call/Visit a local nursing facility.  To truly understand the costs and more importantly the envirnoment, go take a tour of a local nursing facility.  Most are nice places to visit, but can you see yourself actually having to move in there?  I’d prefer to receive my care at home.  Today’s long term care policies offer provisions for home care.

Resolution #8- In Denial - Get Real.  Statistics tell us that 1 out of 2 americans will need long term care help as they age.  Most of us have homeowners insurance and we only have a 1 out of 12,000 chance that our house will burn down.  So why would you bet your life savings on a 50/50 chance you’ll need care?  And if you are married…..we’ll you get the point.

Resolution #9- Contact an Independent Long Term Care Insurance Agent.  The best way to review all of your options is with an independent agent.  They aren’t loyal to one company, therefore, they’ll work hard to find you the best priced product you can qualify for.  Insurance doesn’t have markups.  The agent is marking up your premium, the carrier sets the premium.  Your local auto agent most likely doesn’t have expertise in long term care, plus your local auto agent most likely is a “captive” agent and can only offer your one option.  Your independent agent can quickly compare dozens of companies and offer you several different options.  Request a long term care insurance quote.

Resolution #10 - Apply Today.  It doesn’t hurt to apply and learn if you’ll qualify or not.  Not everyone does.  The younger and healthier you are means the lower the premium you’ll pay, which can add up to thousands of dollars saved over your lifetime.

Here’s to a healthy 2009!

Your Long Term Care application declined? Now What?

It can be one of the most frustrating experiences you’ll ever have with an insurance company.  Here you are finally wanting to purchase that expensive Long Term Care Insurance Policy and the insurance carrier rejects you.  What a terrible feeling.  They don’t want me…I feel good, I look good, they don’t know what they are talking about!  These are normal feelings to have when you are declined.

So now what do I do?   First, try not to be too frustrated.  There’s more than one fish in the sea.  Second, go forward with your spouse’s approval.  Too often we see a couple apply together, one spouse receives an approval and the other spouse gets declined.  Out of frustration, often the approved spouse declines to accept their policy.  They feel that they’ll show the insurance company who’s boss.   Let’s think about this one….here’s an analogy:  Would you drop your spouse’s auto insurance if you were turned down by an insurance company?  Of course not.  So why reject LTC insurance?

Finally, work with an independent agent that specializes in Long Term Care policies.  That agent will have access to several carriers including ones that deal with tougher health situations that caused your declination in the first place.  It’s also important to design the policy correctly.  You can read a good article on 6 tips for Getting the Best Coverage.

Long Term Care Insurance - don’t leave this critical protection out of your Estate Planning

One of the most important parts of any properly designed estate plan is to have a Long Term Care Insuarnce policy in place.  At this point in your life you most likely have all of your finances in order including having your portfolio properly protected from market changes. 

Sadly, far too many Americans still have far too much risk in their estate plans.  The missing element that can literally wipe out your estate is having to pay for extended periods of care as we age.  A fantastic way to mitigate this risk is by having a properly designed Long Term Care Insurance policy in place.

Long Term Care Policies are becoming more and more popular every year and more popular with the last of the baby boomer generation.  Take this simple self test regarding paying for the costs of Long Term Care.  At today’s rates the average nursing home costs approximately $6,000 per month or $72,000 a year.  Now take your liquid assets and divide that number by $72,000.  This will give you how many years your estate would last if you needed extended care.  If you are married, take the number of years and divide that number by two…since there are two of you to pay for.  Pretty scary huh!

This little exercise can be an eye opener for most.  And that was based upon today’s costs.  Is your portfolio growing at the rate of health care costs?  Hopefully so, if not, then your assets could be depleted that much faster.

The solution to protecting your estate is to have a properly designed Long Term Care Insurance Policy in place.  Several large insurance carriers offer these great plans such as Allianz, Genworth, John Hancock and MetLife. 

Thankfully, most qualified Estate Planners understand the value of having this type of plan in place.  You can read a great article from Bacon/Wilson, Attorneys at Law, on this subject here.

Get a fast, easy, and free quote on Long Term Care Insurance of all types. Please click and fill out the form for a no-obligation long term care quote.

 

Should I buy Long Term Care Insurance at 40 years old?

One thing I’ve noticed in the past few years is that the age of my prospective clients is getting younger and younger.  Years ago it seemed like everybody I was meeting with was “grandparent” types and closing in on that magical moment of retirement.  With better public awareness happening, now I’m often discussing the benefits of a Long Term Care Insurance policy with the last of the baby boomers and Gen Xers.

So what is the correct age to purchase a Long Term Care policy at?  None of us have a crystal ball to determine the precise moment the day before you should apply.  Some financial planners and industry gurus suggest 60 years of age, others say 50 is the magical age, and now we are even reading about planners and insurance agents suggesting 40 years old is not too young. 

Remember, we all have to health qualify for a policy.  With medical records becoming more reliable due to technology and medical testing being able to diagnose future problems at an earlier age, 40 is no longer too young to apply.

A benefit of purchasing a policy while you are younger is that most likely you will be healthier the younger you apply and your premiums will be lower.  Of course, you’ll pay premiums for a longer period of time, but your peace of mind will be intact.  Many agents report having clients in their thirties!

I read a great piece on Dan Blankenhorn’s blog regarding his friend that suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and thankfully has a policy in place.  You can read that story here at Dan’s Blog.

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