OAK STREET ADVISORS
  • HOME
  • SERVICES
    • Financial Planning
    • Tax Planning
    • Fiduciary Investment Management
    • Small Business Planning >
      • Business Retirement Plan Advisory
  • ABOUT US
    • WHAT IS A FEE ONLY ADVISOR?
    • FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
    • OUR TEAM
  • SCHEDULE AN INTRO CALL
  • BLOG
    • BLOG
  • CONTACT A FINANCIAL PLANNER
  • FORM ADV PART 2
  • IS A ROTH IRA RIGHT FOR YOU?

NEWS YOU CAN USE

Do I Need Long-Term Care Insurance?

8/22/2019

 
With nursing home care running north of $68,000 per year, many families who have a "comfortable retirement" could find themselves facing the prospect of spending down a large chunk of their savings and investments should the need for nursing home care arise. Without long-term care insurance some will find their only option may be to apply for Medicaid assistance.
 
While Medicaid rules vary from state-to-state, typically a person needing long-term care benefits must spend down their assets to $5,000. If there is a surviving spouse, they can usually keep the family home (but states can consider home equity in excess of $500,000), a prepaid burial plan, and between $50,000 and $100,000 in resources.
 
 
Cost
For couples aged 60, the average cost of long-term care insurance runs about $3,500 per year. For many this is expensive; some alternatives you might consider are long-term care annuities and life insurance policies with long-term care riders.
 
Regardless of cost, you should shop for a policy from a company with the financial stability to pay a claim if it becomes needed. Limiting your coverage and extending the waiting period can help reduce costs as well.
 
You should choose a policy that meets your needs and include in-home care and policy triggers that are reasonable. A report from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance suggests that for the majority of policy owners, three years of coverage is sufficient. With high cost of coverage, the primary reason for not having coverage this study suggests that some coverage is better than none, and for most, is all that is needed.
 


What Triggers Your Long-Term Care Benefits?
Most companies will pay benefits if you are unable to complete two of the six activities of daily living, which include:
 
  • Eating
  • Bathing
  • Dressing
  • Toileting
  • Transferring from a bed or chair
  • Maintaining continence
 
Or if you have severe cognitive impairment.
 
When Do Benefits Begin
Often long-term care policies have an exclusion period before benefits will begin. There can be some flexibility here if you have the resources to pay for some expenses yourself, for a few months. The most common exclusion period is 90 days. That means you would pay the first 90 days of expenses out of your pocket. This is reasonable and ties in with Medicare, who will generally cover the first 90 days of care if you are in a nursing home for something you are expected to recover from, such as surgery or a stroke.
 
What Long-Term Care Insurance Covers
Virtually all policies are comprehensive plans, which cover care provided in many settings: at home, adult daycare centers, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and Alzheimer’s facilities.  A home care benefit will typically cover skilled nursing care and occupational, speech, physical, and rehabilitation therapy.  Most importantly, it can help with personal care, such as bathing and dressing.  
 
Where to find Long-Term Care Facilities
You may at some time in your life be involved in selecting a nursing home facility for a loved one. The US Department of Health and Human Services Medicare site now has a feature called Nursing Home Care Compare. You can use this site to find and compare nursing homes by state, zip code, county or name.
 
Once you have found nursing homes in your area you can view information on the quality of care provided. Each home is compared to the state and national averages for each category; for example, the number of nursing staff per-resident, per-day; or the percentage of residents who are physically restrained. Although the grading is measured against negatives and a little confusing (it seems a lower score is better), it is an excellent resource and a good place to start should you ever need nursing home facilities.
 

    Archives

    April 2025
    February 2025
    September 2024
    April 2024
    September 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014

    Categories

    All
    401k
    403b
    529 Plans
    Annuities
    Behavioral Economics
    Bonds
    Budget
    Charity
    College Planning
    Credit
    Credit Cards
    Crypto Currency
    Debt
    Economics
    Estate Planning
    Federal Reserve
    Fiduciary
    Financial Planning
    Goals
    Gold
    HSA
    Income Tax
    Income Tax Planning
    Insurance
    Interest Rates
    Investing
    Investments Expenses
    IRA
    Jobs
    Life Insurance
    Real Estate
    Retirement
    Retirement Income
    Risk
    Rollover
    Roth IRA
    Savings
    Social Security
    Special Needs
    Stocks

    RSS Feed

Photos from archer10 (Dennis) 162M Views, Philip Taylor PT, mikecohen1872, cafecredit
  • HOME
  • SERVICES
    • Financial Planning
    • Tax Planning
    • Fiduciary Investment Management
    • Small Business Planning >
      • Business Retirement Plan Advisory
  • ABOUT US
    • WHAT IS A FEE ONLY ADVISOR?
    • FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
    • OUR TEAM
  • SCHEDULE AN INTRO CALL
  • BLOG
    • BLOG
  • CONTACT A FINANCIAL PLANNER
  • FORM ADV PART 2
  • IS A ROTH IRA RIGHT FOR YOU?