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excellent policy.
great company.
most agents do NOT sell this policy because the company has very strict rules about who can sell it.
They've never had any rate increases on any of their LTCi policyholders.
unisex rates.
the facility only is about 20% less than the comprehensive.
5% compound is overpriced (IMHO).
The 6 year is an excellent value.
The cost will depend upon your health.
Mass Mutual is coming out with a new long-term care policy sometime in the next 3 to 6 months. Over the past 18 years Mass Mutual has sold 5 different long-term care policy series. A policy series is a lot like a make and model of a car.
Their new policy series will have gender-based rates. That'll be good for men but "not so good" for women. Women will get the gender-based rates if they apply for a policy after the new policy comes out. Women who already own a Mass Mutual policy (or who apply for the current policy series) will always have the unisex rates.
So in light of this thread I did reach out to AARP and aaltci (American Association for ltci) and had some quotes prepared for me.
picked two insurance companies Mutual of Omaha and Transamerica. just as a benchmark. we picked a total "pool" of money of 200K (which according to the presentation will kick out 4500 bucks a month for 3.7 years) enough for in home "aide" and half of what is necessary for nursing home. 90 day wait. no inflation rider.
I got two quotes. 4200 and 5000 annually. they did say premiums would not go up. I pass as I still like my plan better. I did ask the agent at what age did most folks begin benefits. He's going to get back to me at that. My reasoning is if most women dont need care until they are 75, that's 20 years of kicking out 4200 bucks a year.
They also ran a simulation including a 2% and 3% inflation rider.
I've got one more meeting with New York life to see what they say.
So, I still think the plan I have is better for me but I'll check again when I hit 60 in a few years.
Damn right I'd pass. You pay $100,000 in premiums over 20 years, plus the interest they earn on the premiums, for a maximum payout of $200,000? And the maximum is only paid out if (1) you need the care, and (2) you live long enough to use up the maximum? And you are still on the hook for the other half of the nursing home cost, and if you outlive the $200K you are simply out of luck?
it works out so in about 20 years you would typically pay in one years costs in a home , at 120k today a year in these parts as a min , what do you think one year will cost in 20 years ?.
in our case we would pay in one years costs likely , and once the insurance runs out ,which is 3 years snf /6 years in assisted living or home care a special form of medicaid will pick up the bills with no look back ,spend down or income restrictions on the stay at home spouse . that is the nys partnership plan deal they offer .
great deal .
the alternative was self insure . take a huge chunk of money out of the income generation pool since drawing 4% assumes that can go to zero , so income takes a hit .
the self insuring money like any insurance has to be kept safe and intact at all times ready to be utilized.that means low returns keeping it secure .
you may need that money tomorrow like my buddy who impoverished his family when at 55 he fell off a ladder , broke his hip and had a stroke during hip surgery . now he is paralyzed in a home .
for just a fraction of the returns on keeping our money in the portfolio pool we can pay the premium and still have lots of gains left .
think about this fact that the money always has to be there and cannot be part of your portfolio .
we were all for self insuring until we were featured in money magazine and their team of experts fought me on this . they were so correct .
our attorney says most of his clients are the self insurers . everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face .
i would never tell others what to do , but i do present different views of things that others may fail to recognize so they can make their own better informed choice ..
in reality we would need a whole lot more in assets to properly self insure . most who say they are self insuring really are not . they have their portfolio and just hope it does not take a hit because there is no actual insurance money set a side
Last edited by mathjak107; 10-11-2017 at 03:01 AM..
And to the tune ou about 70% spending 100k or less it’s not a bad bet.
You are correct though. You cannot count on using or speculating that money. It needs to be readily available. It doesn’t necessarily have to be 100% in hand on day one but does have to be invested in something not likely to go down.
And to the tune ou about 70% spending 100k or less it’s not a bad bet.
You are correct though. You cannot count on using or speculating that money. It needs to be readily available. It doesn’t necessarily have to be 100% in hand on day one but does have to be invested in something not likely to go down.
which is extremely easy to do. like I said my mil did a very simple annuity and is fully taken care of at 82. Has a health home care lady 3 times a week, in her own condo and has a senior center come in to pick her up. she choose this route simply because she wanted to be able to leave her grandkids some thing if she passed. Now she doesn't have dementia, God willing she'll have a nice long life.
I just reiterate, planning is the key. for some there are many plans that have alternatives to LTC insurance. full disclosure: my late husband and I were some of the folks who purchased ltci early and then got screwed when our premiums tripled so after that happened I made it a point to look for alternatives. this was years ago and I've heard the industry has gotten better. YMMV
I will say that it is easy in theory. The reality is harder to do. That is why there is LTCi. A lot of people cannot understand that concept even though they did very well getting to become financially independent they think they can set aside say 500k in a mid to high risk mutual fund and if the market turns at just the wrong time they could lose a lot of that safety net.
With the odds mentioned earlier it is still a 50/50 bet. You will either need it or you won’t.
Damn right I'd pass. You pay $100,000 in premiums over 20 years, plus the interest they earn on the premiums, for a maximum payout of $200,000? And the maximum is only paid out if (1) you need the care, and (2) you live long enough to use up the maximum? And you are still on the hook for the other half of the nursing home cost, and if you outlive the $200K you are simply out of luck?
I think I'll self-insure.
If long-term care insurance cost $100,000 for $200,000 of benefits, then it doesn't make sense to buy it.
Fortunately, a 56-year old woman, in good health can get $500,000 of LTC insurance benefits for only $193.92 per month in premium.
And to the tune ou about 70% spending 100k or less it’s not a bad bet.
You are correct though. You cannot count on using or speculating that money. It needs to be readily available. It doesn’t necessarily have to be 100% in hand on day one but does have to be invested in something not likely to go down.
only 35% for a couple.
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