David HaynesDavid Haynes, CLTC, is an independent insurance broker specializing in long-term care insurance planning. Contact David at 336-314-1698 or david@haynesltc.com.
What Does Your Family Want to Hear … I Love Your or Long Term Care?
Long term care. Three words that can change a family forever. Long term care is not a place. It is an event that can happen to anyone at anytime and any age. Long term care is assistance provided to loved ones because of their inability to perform activities of daily living due to an illness, injury, or progressive, sudden, cognitive impairment such as dementia or Alzheimer’s. Many assume that long-term care is for those in nursing homes, reserved for the elderly. “Over 79% of those age 65+ will need some type of care during their lifetime.”**
Most statistics confirm that care typically begins in the home, unnoticed by most people well before a facility entrance. Lives are impacted and dollars spent before the larger financial obligations appear. The impact on family members providing care can be overwhelming. We all wish to live a long, happy and healthy life in our retirement years. Most people do not think of the complications associated with a short or a long term care event should it occur.
Part of the financial planning process is understanding the impact that the cost of care may have on your investments, assets, your family and the future. A long term care event can have catastrophic financial consequences on a retirement plan. Most funds that pay for care come from “Cash” or “Long Term Care insurance policies”. Some may wish to “self insure” financially to pay for future care. While a few may have the financial resources to pay, most people do not. Don’t underestimate the cost of care. A small premium helps to transfer the financial risk to the insurance company versus your retirement dollars.
A major risk is the uncertainty of the length of the long term care event. It could last a few months to many years. The reality is that most people will require professional facility care outside of the home and that comes at an expensive cost over time. The best time to obtain a long term care policy is when you are young and healthy. You can’t purchase it when you need it. A properly designed policy can have many valuable features that compound over time. Unfortunately, many buyers are declined by waiting too late to apply. Many insurance carriers provide premium discounts to “couples”. The IRS has favorable tax deductions on the premiums in certain cases, especially the self employed and business owners. Design flexibility on creating your own policy is very flexible.
Your family members want to hear, “I Love you!” “What do you want to tell them?”
If you want a personal story, I’ve got one. Happy to take your call – any time.
When you think of long term care… “Don’t Hope for the Best, Plan for it. ”