Should You Buy Long-Term Care Insurance?

If you or your spouse or partner ever require long-term care due to illness or injury, the impact on your finances could be significant. It’s a risk you should address in your personal financial planning. However, buying long-term care (LTC) insurance may or may not be your best alternative for managing this risk.Long-term care, typically defined as services to help an ill or injured person carry out essential, daily activities like eating, bathing or dressing, is generally not covered by health insurance or Medicare. Often, a patient receives long-term care in a nursing home. With the average cost of a nursing home at $78,000 a year and climbing, it’s easy to see how long-term care could become a serious drain on your wealth.Not everyone winds up needing long-term care or staying in a nursing home, but the odds are not negligible. At age 65, people have a 40 percent chance of being admitted to a nursing home in the future. But even if 65 is a long way off for you, consider this: An estimated 40 percent of long-term care recipients are between ages 18 and 64.LTC insurance shields your wealth from the potential blow of long-term care, thus safeguarding assets that you’ve earmarked for loved ones or charities. However, LTC premiums can run high; the cost varies widely based on your age, the level of benefits, the length of the waiting period before benefit payments start, and other factors. Self-funding for long-term care might be your better option, but only a careful assessment of your financial situation, health, and other particulars can offer conclusive answers.At Grand Wealth Management, we can help our clients with such an assessment. And, because we don’t sell LTC insurance or any other insurance or investment products, our clients can rely on us to provide objective guidance.