Long-Term Care Insurance Completes Your Financial Plan

Article submitted by J. Fred Wood, CSA, CLTC.
For more information, he can be reached at Bankers Life and Casualty, 7550 IH 10 W Suite 1050, San Antonio, Texas 78229. Phone: 210-366-3490.

When people consider the subject of long-term care, they often think about nursing homes. In fact, long-term care has little to do with nursing homes.

Long-term care is a continuum of care services and housing you will need when you live a long life. The longer you live, the more likely you are to need care. The question is not who will take care of you, since most often your family will, but rather--what providing that care will do to your family and finances.

Does your retirement plan include plans for handling long-term care?

Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) should be a part of your retirement plan. This is so because the impact of paying for catastrophic illness can devastate retirement assets. LTCI thus becomes an important part of planning for disability caused by living a long life. The product has two roles: helping keep families together and allowing your retirement portfolio to be available for the purpose for which it was intended, namely retirement.

From a personal perspective, LTCI allows an individual to retain their independence, to preserve their choices for care, to remain at home rather than be forced to go to a care facility and certainly, peace of mind.

From a family perspective, think about who will be providing your care. Like it or not, children usually play a key role. LTCI doesn't replace the need for family involvement in providing care but rather builds on it. It pays professionals to assist the person with the toughest tasks such as toileting, bathing, feeding and continence. This, in turn, allows the family to provide care better and longer at home.

From a financial point of view, LTCI allows your retirement plan to stay in tact. That is particularly important given the recent steep decline in portfolio value. The product, in effect protects the balance of your account value. The burden of care expenses is shifted to the LTCI policy, thus preserving retirement assets and insuring a better quality of life.

That leads to a critical question: have YOU planned for the consequences of living a long life? If not, your retirement plan is not complete.

When buying this insurance, look for a long-term care specialist. Consider their training, educational credentials and commitment to help solve your long-term care needs. The key is whether they talk first about a plan or a product. If they are interested in the plan, you are dealing with a professional. If they focus first on product and price, consider getting another opinion.