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I am still a ways from retirement, but have started reseaching what I need to
have in place to retire. I am trying to determine if long-term care insurance
would be a good investment or use of money? I am still under 50, so it would be better to buy a policy before I turn 50. I can say about 47% of the cost of a policy if I buy before 50. However, I read that the cost of the policy can become prohibitive once retired and on a fixed income. Plus there are lots of loopholes in the policy to prevent people from collecting.
How many of you have bought long-term care insurance? Would it be better to self-insure instead of putting money toward this policy? I am not concerned about leaving an estate to kids as we do not have any.
I did. I thought it would be a much better thing to have than life insurance so I canceled all life ins.. It also makes you more attractive if you ever need assisted living. I did some shopping around. There's lots of variability in the products. I think you want a solid company that it likely to stay around for a long time. You also want an inflation clause and premiums that don't run up when you get old. One of the reasons to buy in relatively young is you probably won't be refused, you get lower premiums. Mine has a lifetime cost so the older you buy, the higher the cost.
I guess with any ins., there's always the risk of them weaseling out of payments. That's why the industry needs to be regulated.
We just purchased a policy for both of us through an independent using John Hopkins. It's a bit pricey, but we can afford it ($5k plus/year) and the coverage is good. $4500/mo for each of us and the benefit is shared (If I don't need it and she uses all of hers, she can use mine) and has a $1 million dollar payout each if we use all of it. Has good inflation coverage, too. In home care which can be done by a relative if they take proper training.
With the advances in medicine and life expectancy (and personal experiences in our families) we think it's a necessity. The cost of health care certainly isn't going down in the future....
As for being covered by personal investing; I think it's possible. The only real worry is the volatility of the markets. You just never know when it might decide to tank. Our luck: Just before we need a ton of money for health care.
Most of what I have heard, including from a financial planner, is that while it may be cheaper to get into these policies in your forties, most would advise you to wait until 60 to purchase it. I looked into for my mother in law who was in her late 70's at the time so I began thinking about it for us. I will buy it and will start looking into it as I am nearing sixty. We have an heir so I would rather some insurance pay such potential bills then have her pay them, so to speak. Our planner said there are some good instruments coming out in this area since baby boomers seem to want and expect more than the generation before them in this regard.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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My uncle was waiting till 60 to by LTC, but went in for elective surgery 2 wks prior. Was OXY deprived in recovery and spent his 60th BD in intensive care, and has required 24x7 care for the past many yrs, full care 100% of time. His wife had to retire early to care for him, thus loosing significant benefits. No judgments awarded due to tort reform, and hospital insistence that an OXY monitor was not required for such simple surgery.
Many fights with insurance and significantly reduced quality of life for entire family has me convinced to buy early, and I have not used a general anesthetic in my 3 subsequent surgeries, nor will I, if I have the choice... Keep those advanced directives up to date! one tattoo I've considered is DNR in glowing letters, right across my chest!
I don’t know about this one. Yes, there are always cases where people as young as in their 50s or 60s experience an illness which renders them having to have 24 hour care. That is rare.
I watched my husband’s aunt and uncle take care of each other and remain in their own home. The uncle, in his late 80s, is still doing OK on his own. My mother-in-law is 95 and taking care of herself in her own home. One of her sons lives near by and checks up on her.
Who wants to spend their last days in a nursing home being at the mercy of people getting minimum wage who probably hate their jobs?
No, I just can’t bring myself to pay for "long term care" when the thought of a nursing home scares the hell out of me. There are alternatives. When my father got cancer I would have, with pleasure, taken a leave of absence from my job to care for him – as it happened the cancer spread and he died very quickly. I knew he was fearful of going into a nursing home and I didn’t want him to ever have to experience one.
Of course any "financial planner" will tell you "long term care insurance" is a must have.
I got the long term care so I could have a choice if I needed it. One of the things my policy pays for is in home care - important so that staying at home is one of the options should I need it. Like all insurance, you need to look carefully at what it gives you. For me, I don't have offspring so there isn't anyone to do that for me. And there are plenty of people who can't rely on thier offspring.
Yes, it is true, one cannot rely on their offspring to take care of them.
But, still, I think the best thing to do is instead of spending money on "long term care" premiums, I will use that money to enjoy life. When I get to the point where I can’t take care of myself then I’ll have my daughter send me on a one-way trip to Switzerland where they can sort me out properly.
We've been checking on assisted living for my mother in law, if you get under a certain amount of money you qualify for medicade to pay for assisted living. the ones that I checked on for her in California and Alaska won't take insuance or self pay, has to be medicade. Doesn't seem right to me but that's what they said.
medicaid will not cover assisted living, you need to private pay or have a long term care policy
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