There are so many things that make Long Term Care planning incredibly important. Here is our Top 10 list for 2022. We also created a cool infographic to share. Check it out.
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1. 70% of people 65 and older will experience a long-term-care event
Most people will need help with the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and personal care at some point in their life, so it’s typically a question of IF, not WHEN.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are currently about 54 million seniors aged 65 and over in the country, or roughly 16.5% of the total population. 70% of those are likely to experience a long-term care event, so the chances are pretty good that if you’re reading this, you’re going to have a period of time in your life where you’ll need assistance with activities of daily living in your life. Having a long-term plan of care can help you be ready.
2. Costs of long-term care rose in 2020 between 3.24% and 6.15%
Ranging from personal care and homemaker services to adult day care to various inpatient nursing home care or assisted living facility options, the costs of skilled care continue to rise. And there are no signs that, where long-term care costs are concerned, things are heading in the opposite direction anytime soon. So, part of your plan needs to include how you’ll cover long-term personal care services and medical expenses. Whether it’s using savings, other investment vehicles, long-term care insurance coverage, or some other means, the sooner you start advance care planning the better off you’ll be.
3. Establish peace of mind
Talk to your loved one’s about making a plan for the costs of care, so you can know you’re covered before it’s too late. Nobody wants to have to scramble and have their back up against the wall. Thinking and talking to your loved one’s about a long-term care plan before an event occurs is the best way to get things settled and create peace of mind. If you worry so much for your parents’ quality of life, get long-term care for your parents.
The premium rate for long-term care insurance policies can be as little as \$100 a month (annual premium \$1200) or as much as several hundred a month or even more.
However, if you’re unlucky enough to need them, and depending on the type of medical condition and the care you need, the potential benefits from a long-term care insurance policy can well outweigh this expense.
4. Preserve your savings
If you don’t want to spend all of your hard-earned savings or your retirement nest egg on long-term care services, then the sooner you start planning, the better off you’ll be in terms of minimizing the amount of savings you’ll have to touch for your professional care.
5. Planning doesn’t happen overnight
There are so many variables you need to consider, so making a long-term health plan is something that will take a lot of time, research, and conversations with family & friends, and you’ll want to seek the expert help from a licensed long-term care insurance agent. Without a plan, you’ll be riding shotgun, so whether it’s medigap planning or long-term, get one.
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6. What’s so different?
You make plans for retirement, saving for college, buying a home, or other far-off needs and wants. This is no different. Making a plan for your future long-term care needs should be no different. In fact, the sooner you start to make a plan, the better off you’ll be, so you can have things ready for when you need to execute that plan. Long-term care planning should be treated like retirement planning, college planning, or other life events planning.
7. Get in front of the 8-ball
If you don’t plan before you need a long-term care program, then you might end up in a financial situation where you’re not able to get the level of care you need or be able to get Long-Term Care Insurance coverage if that’s intended to be part of your plan. So, get in front of the 8-ball and get going!
8. Save money by purchasing earlier
If you’re considering long-term-care insurance as part of your long-term care program planning, then the sooner you look into it, and the sooner you talk to an agent to understand long-term care policy options, coverage considerations, and premium costs, the sooner you can get that piece of your long-term care planning in place. And it’ll also save you money over the long haul. In short, the sooner you get long-term care insurance, the cheaper it will typically be. Also, don’t forget to check what does disability insurance cover.
9. Reduce stress on family & friends
Putting an individual long-term care insurance policy plan in place can help your loved one’s know what to expect and how to help get things arranged when needed. We all have people in our lives who care about us, but nobody really wants to have to burden those loved ones when it comes to ongoing care needs. It creates stress, a strain on relationships, and also can drain nest eggs pretty quickly if there isn’t the right plan in place. So, if you don’t want to do it for yourself, then think of it as a valuable gift to your loved ones and start making a long-term care plan today!
10. It just feels good to check the box on important things
You check the boxes on having plans for life, auto, and your home coverages, so planning for long-term care coverage will round things out. As we do with certain life stages, we think about things that we need to do to take care of those we love and help protect them, and ourselves. We get life insurance when we get married. We increase that life insurance when we have a child. We start saving for the college fund. We put aside money for that tropical vacation in a year. Those things feel good to us because it’s doing the right thing and gets us prepared. Making a long-term care plan is no different. It should be part of our bigger life plan.
References:
2020 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (https://acl.gov/ltc/basic-needs/how-much-care-will-you-needopens in new window
Genworth https://pro.genworth.com/riiproweb/productinfo/pdf/131168.pd
