Why Financial Advisors Recommend Long-Term Care Insurance

By Steve Elliott | April 30, 2024 | Comments Off on Why Financial Advisors Recommend Long-Term Care Insurance

Even though long-term care insurance has been around for a while, not a lot of people have known about it. It hasn’t been “pushed” by brokers or agents like it has in recent years. Now, even financial advisors are recommending long-term care insurance to more of their clients as they move through their 40s and into their 50s. At that time they should discuss the long-term care insurance cost and what it would cover.

What is long-term care insurance?

Long-Term Care Insurance Cost Carlsbad CA - Why Financial Advisors Recommend Long-Term Care Insurance

Long-Term Care Insurance Cost Carlsbad CA – Why Financial Advisors Recommend Long-Term Care Insurance

This is a form of insurance that can help provide financial support in the event you or your dependent (your spouse or legal partner) require some type of long-term care in the future.

Do you have to be officially retired to capitalize on a long-term care insurance policy? No. If you start a policy at 55 years of age (the optimal time to begin one of these policies, according to insider experts), for example, but then are involved in an automobile accident, have a stroke, or face another serious medical emergency that requires long-term care when you’re 58, you will be able to collect on that policy.

In reality, this can happen at any time, but most people won’t require long-term care until they are retired, usually when they are in their 70s or 80s.

Did you know that 50% of seniors 65 and over will require long-term care in the future?

This is often a surprising and sobering statistic. When you consider that half of Americans 65 and over will require long-term care in the future, you realize how important this type of insurance is.

This is one of the primary reasons why an increasing number of financial experts and advisers are encouraging their clients to look into and begin a long-term care insurance policy at least by the optimal time.

How much does long-term care insurance cost these days?

Like any insurance, it depends on numerous factors, including your health history, your current health, your family health history, your age, and so forth. Some policies could cost a couple of thousand dollars a year while others could be $8,000 per year or more.

You could also bundle a long-term care insurance policy with other types of insurance, like life insurance. That’s why you must speak to an experienced agent or broker before deciding on long-term care, especially when it’s part of your retirement planning.

Won’t Medicaid or your primary insurance cover these expenses?

It’s easy to assume that long-term care insurance is only for those who don’t have adequate health insurance coverage already because, after all, wouldn’t your primary health insurance policy cover these expenses? Or won’t Medicaid cover them once you reach retirement age and start collecting?

The answer is simply no. Most health insurance policies only cover short-term care, meaning a few weeks, at best. If you need to be in a nursing home for several months to recover from a stroke, for example, you’ll have to pay for that out-of-pocket.

As far as Medicaid is concerned, it is only going to cover one type of long-term care (in most cases and in most states that’s a nursing home) and only after you have exhausted all your available savings and liquid assets. That means you might have to take out the equity in your home to cover those expenses before Medicaid will even begin paying for the coverage.

Now that you know the truth, what will you choose?

You don’t have to start a long-term care insurance policy if you don’t want to. It’s like life insurance: it’s there if you want it, but it is not a requirement. However, if you are saving and investing for retirement, it would be prudent to add a long-term care insurance policy to that plan.

That way, when you and your spouse or partner retire, you won’t have to worry about the rising cost of long-term care or what may happen in the future because he or she, your life partner, will still be protected and financially secure.

If you or a loved one are considering Long-Term Care Insurance Cost in Carlsbad 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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