At this moment, millions of Baby Boomers are rushing headlong into retirement. If they aren’t retired yet, they will be within about a decade. And we all know that a few years can seem to go by in a flash.
While you’re considering topics such as generating enough income to last the rest of your life, protecting yourself against inflation, and mitigating the rising costs of healthcare, there is one more important issue to confront. Did you know that a 65-year-old today faces a 70 percent chance of needing long-term nursing care at some point in their lifetime? And, for 20 percent of those individuals, the need for such care will last longer than five years.
If someone told you there was a 70 percent chance of your car being stolen, you’d make sure to insure it, wouldn’t you?
Long-term care is expensive. Aside from the fact that most of you will need long-term care at some point, have you considered the cost? The national average cost of a shared room in a nursing home is $77,380 per year. But remember, that’s an average; in some states, like Massachusetts, the pricetag runs closer to $120,000 annually.
Medicare won’t cover all that you need. Medicare will pay for the first 100 days in a nursing facility, depending upon the circumstances, and that’s all.
Long-term care insurance offers flexible benefits. Depending upon your policy’s provisions, long-term care insurance will reimburse you for the cost of a nursing home, assisted living facility, adult day care, or even in-home care.
Consider coverage NOW. The best time to consider long-term care insurance is usually during your fifties or early sixties, as you’re thinking about and preparing for retirement. You will achieve a lower premium if you enroll in a policy earlier. Plus, this is one potential problem that you can put to rest; instead of worrying about how your budget would handle the need for long-term care, you can move along to planning other important aspects of your retirement.
For more information on long-term care insurance, give us a call. We can help walk you through your options, understand various terms, and choose a policy that is right for your needs.