
Home » Insights » Insurance Protection » Exploring Long-Term Care Insurance
Terry Bobo
Director of Insurance Solutions
Garrett Cauley
Insurance Advisor
Long-term care (LTC) services such as in-home nursing or a room in an assisted living center can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars—putting your dreams for retirement or other goals in jeopardy. LTC insurance coverage can help safeguard both your physical and financial wellness. November was National LTC Awareness Month—a timely reminder to talk with your insurance agent or wealth management advisor about adding this type of coverage.
It’s not easy to think about someday needing around-the-clock assistance with basic activities of daily living due to a debilitating injury or illness. However, an estimated 70% of people who reach age 65 will require long-term care (LTC) at some point in their lifetime.1
Arranging LTC services for yourself or a family member can quickly grow financially overwhelming. For example, the cost of a full-time home health aide in the United States averages more than more than $4,700 a month and the average cost for a private room in a nursing home is nearly $110,000 a year.2
With so much potentially at stake as we age, the benefits of considering LTC insurance as a component of your overall financial plan are hard to ignore.
While the earliest examples of this coverage date back more than half a century, LTC insurance in its current form took shape during the 1990s. A LTC policy is designed to provide benefits to the policy holder for expenses associated with caring for someone who cannot independently perform routine activities such as getting out of bed, dressing, bathing, eating, and using the restroom.
Such care typically falls outside the parameters of standard health insurance coverage. Although the federal and state-run Medicaid program does pay for certain inpatient LTC services in a residential facility, a person typically must have exhausted nearly all other financial assets and have a very low income in order to qualify.
A private LTC insurance policy can be structured to repay all, or part of, the costs associated with daily living support—whether at home or in a residential facility—over a specific time span. For example, you might select coverage of up to $250 per day for up to four years. This establishes a pool of money that you and your spouse or children can tap into as needed.
The premium that you pay is based on your health, age, and gender. If your actual care expenses should happen to fall below the established daily limit, many LTC policies will lengthen the time span of reimbursement accordingly. You may also be able to transfer unused benefits to your spouse if you have purchased coverage together.
In contrast to Medicaid requirements, you or your family members don’t have to deplete other savings or liquidate the other assets in your estate before the LTC insurance benefits kick in. So, this type of coverage can help ensure your long-range financial goals—retirement, funding your children’s or grandchildren’s college education, donating to philanthropic causes, and passing along your estate—come to fruition.
Properly structured LTC insurance also:
Moreover, LTC insurance helps relieve your family members of the emotional and physical burdens involved in providing care. As much as we may love our spouse, parents, or siblings, how many of us would truly feel equipped to bathe and dress them full-time? From that perspective, purchasing a LTC policy could be one of the most thoughtful gestures you can make toward your loved ones.
Although a LTC policy can yield compelling benefits, they need to be weighed against your ongoing cost for coverage. As a general rule, your premium will be dramatically lower if you buy coverage at age 40 versus waiting until you are 60. However, the number of years that you’re paying for coverage is almost certain to be longer too.
There’s also the possibility that you will never actually require the services that LTC insurance covers. If this scenario feels too disheartening, you could purchase a life insurance policy that provides the option of receiving LTC benefits rather than part or all of a standard after-death payout. These are referred to as Hybrid Policies and are designed to remove the concern around paying premiums for a pool of money we may never actually need. With this type of policy either you, your spouse, or your estate will receive the pool without worrying about not using the policy and just like the LTC benefit would also be paid income tax-free.
Other considerations regarding LTC coverage include:
The intrinsic value of insurance lies in helping you anticipate and manage financial risks that you would otherwise have to bear on your own. That’s one reason we at Mercer Advisors believe insurance should be a fundamental topic in our discussions with every client about their wealth strategy.
By working with an advisor who’s not only well-versed in your overall financial plan but also has specialized insurance resources as part of your team, you’re less likely to miss cost-saving opportunities or crucial gaps in coverage. Your wealth management partner should also be able to help you:
Whether you view long-term care as a distant prospect or an imminent need in your lifetime, discussing LTC insurance with your financial advisor can help put your options in a clearer light.
If you’re interested in learning more about LTC, reach out to your advisor to set up an appointment. You can also learn more on our Insurance Solutions page.
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