Waiting Until 60 to Begin a Long-Term Care Insurance Policy

By Steve Elliott | August 28, 2024 | Comments Off on Waiting Until 60 to Begin a Long-Term Care Insurance Policy

If you’re like many Americans, you tend to procrastinate. You wait on certain things, even if the best pundits, experts, or knowledgeable family members tell you otherwise. One of those things many Americans put off — often for too long — involves long-term care insurance. Getting a long-term care insurance quote could help to sway your decision about waiting.

Most Americans don’t think they will need long-term care.

Long-Term Care Insurance Quote Encinitas CA - Waiting Until 60 to Begin a Long-Term Care Insurance Policy

Long-Term Care Insurance Quote Encinitas CA – Waiting Until 60 to Begin a Long-Term Care Insurance Policy

That is the sad reality of the world we live in today. If you think you’re never going to require long-term care, think again. Most Americans plan for retirement. They invest, save, and work hard, hoping to retire at 65 or 67 or some other age in their 60s. Maybe you’ll get there. Maybe not.

Yet, why are you doing all of that? Just for yourself? For you and your spouse? That’s wonderful. But aren’t you also doing it because you expect to live? No one works their entire life, and plans to retire, only to pass away shortly after.

So, if you are like most of the rest of us, you are hoping to live to your 80s, 90s, or even later, so long as you are vital and healthy, right? Well, did you know that a person who turns 70 has a 50/50 chance of requiring long-term care before they reach 80?

Do you know how much long-term care costs?

The average cost throughout the entire country for nursing home care is around $85,000 annually. In some states, it can exceed $300,000. For assisted living, it might run you $75,000 or more. For full-time in-home care (not including live-in care), you might expect to pay well over $55,000 each year.

Don’t expect Medicaid to cover those expenses. Federal insurance like Medicare or Medicaid does not cover long-term care expenses until the individual has exhausted all of their savings and assets (those that can be quickly converted into cash). That may include the equity in your home.

Almost no private insurance policy covers long-term care, either. That means you would be on the hook for those expenses. How would that impact your retirement?

Now, what are the benefits of waiting until you are 60?

There are none. Absolutely zero.

You may assume you can save some money by waiting as long as possible, but the longer you wait, the older you get, the greater the risk of being denied coverage or, if you are approved, the more likely you will have a long-term care insurance quote that is a greater amount of money for that policy.

The short answer is to get long-term care insurance at the right time.

When is the right time? That all depends on your family history of health issues, your personal history of health issues, whether you smoked, exercise, have had heart issues in the past, cancer, and so forth as well as numerous other factors.

Most industry professionals acknowledge that around 55 is the ideal “sweet spot” to start a long-term care insurance policy. Some people want to start it earlier and that can be a good idea, too.

After all, you just don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. And if something tragic happens and you have to cover those long-term care expenses yourself, that’s going to impact you, possibly for the rest of your life in a way you never anticipated.

If you or a loved one are considering a Long-Term Care Insurance Quote in Encinitas CA, please get in touch with Steve Elliott at Capstone Insurance for an honest discussion about your future and options. Call today at (858) 350-3161.

Steve Elliott
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