Okay, so you’re young, healthy, and full of life. Why worry about long-term care insurance? Well, it’d be a good idea to start thinking about it if your parents are getting up there in years! Simply recognizing that someone in your family might need long-term care insurance and talking with them about it can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A couple can spend their entire lives building up their retirement account and making sure that they are financially healthy, only to lose it to Alzheimer’s or another long-term illness that ends up costing them their entire nest egg. It happens all across the world more often than you think. Long-term care insurance will pick up where health insurance or disability insurance leaves off.
Who really needs long-term care services?
The American Association of Home and Services for the Aging has stated that most people over the age of 65 will need long-term care services. As you can imagine, the cost for these services is sky-high. It would likely demolish any savings you have within a matter of a few years if not less.
When should I buy long-term care insurance?
The probability of you needing long-term care before the age of 60 is slim. The chances skyrocket after age 60. Nobody over the age of 60 should be without it, even if they think they won’t need it because of their wealth. Protect your wealth and buy it at 60.
Can’t we just use Medicaid?
Only if you are broke! Some people move assets out of their parent’s names in order that they will qualify for Medicaid – but this is a federal crime. It’s not only morally wrong, it is illegal. Besides, who wants to depend on the government for their health care?
Isn’t coverage expensive?
Yes, it is. But the benefit is amazing. Ratio-wise, you’re getting a good return for your premiums. It’s worth every penny. I’ve gotten a few example quotes and found it to be reasonable. In order to afford long-term care insurance, you must have a strong income. That’s why it is so important be smart with your money while you are young so when you are old you can be covered.
Be sure to shop around for the best coverage for you or your parents. Make sure your family is all on the same page. It’s very difficult to have the conversation about long-term care insurance with your family, but very necessary. If your parents can’t afford long-term care insurance, it would be wise to buy it for them if you can. Remember, their financial problems can quickly become your financial problem. Don’t let them go without this valuable type of insurance.
“Insurance Essentials: Long-Term Care Insurance” is part of a series on Insurance Essentials: An Introduction To Insurance You Need! I encourage you to read more articles on insurance. I’d also appreciate your comments below so that I might improve this article accordingly. Thank you for your help!
! John wrote two articles for the book: "Budgeting for Groceries" and "How Grocery Stores Work."
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I have one quick question: If I’m 50 years old, I’ve been maxing out my retirement savings for years, I’ve got adequate life insurance and disability insurance, good cash flow, and I’m in good health-why would I not buy long-term care insurance now?
Thanks for the info!
Hey Barry. Great question. Every person’s situation is different. If you have the funds to pay for long-term care insurance now, and you feel that you are more at-risk than the general public, you may choose to buy it sooner. Buying long-term care insurance at 60 years of age is the best advice based on statistical probability that you’ll need it. But if buying it sooner helps you feel more secure, by all means do so!
Thanks for being a reader! I’m honored!
I understand.
I guess my follow-up question would be: If statistically you aren’t likely to use Long-Term Care insurance before the age of 60, wouldn’t it make it significantly less likely that you can actually qualify for it at that age? After all, if we ALL SHOULD buy LTC coverage, wouldn’t it make sense to buy it when we know we can get it?
I would say that if we just looked at statistics, a very small percentage of people actually use life insurance before the age of 60 as well. However, we still buy it young to protect our interests. I guess I just don’t understand what the difference is.
Thanks again for your info!
Thanks Barry for your excellent input. I understand where you’re coming from. Really, it’s all about analyzing your risk. If you have reason to believe that you’ll have a difficult time getting LTC coverage at 60, perhaps you should buy it early. From the experts I’ve listened to though, it seems most people shouldn’t buy it until age 60.
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