Thinking About Long-Term Care Insurance?

Posted on | May 23, 2007 | Comments Off on Thinking About Long-Term Care Insurance?

Have you thought much about long-term care insurance? I’m sure that depends on your age, the age of your parents, and your income – but I want you to know it’s worth consideration, no matter where you are in life. Why? Because 60% of current 65 year olds will need some kind of long-term care in their lifetime — and it’s expensive. The average cost of a year in a nursing home is $70,000. That’s today’s cost — in 25 years, it’s expected to reach around $200,000.

That’s why it’s time to start planning now. Buying long-term care insurance is a way to protect your retirement savings and not over-burden your children with astronomical bills when you need full-time care. Yet, as you’ll see in this week’s Health Politics program, predicting how much care you’ll need and figuring out the plan that works best for you both now and then can be tricky. That’s why this HP program and a great article in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance (Retirement Planning 2006) provide some tips to help you manage the cost of the premiums and still get the coverage you may need.

Anyone purchased this type of insurance recently? Let me know what you think.