Published by Casey Franken CFP®
For most retirees, there are a few words that can keep a person up at night. You’re out of money. Nursing home. Long-Term Care (Extended Care). These are all frightening scenarios that unfortunately happen to people. Extended care costs are staggering and are growing at a rapid pace. Nobody thinks they will be “that person” who ends up in a nursing home. Take a look at your spouse. More than likely, at least one of you will encounter an extended care event. The annual cost of nursing home care is encroaching on almost six figures in some states; dependent on many factors*. How would you pay for this unexpected expense? How many years would you be able to “self-fund” the expense? What could have been done to protect against this risk?
Simply put, long-term care insurance is expensive. There are different products available in the market and however you slice it; IT’S EXPENSIVE. Insurance companies are always calculating and offer products using actuarial tables. It shouldn’t be a surprise that an insurance company would charge enough to cover the very costly claims. The insurance company needs to stay in business TO PAY YOUR CLAIM!
Some people say, “I will be covered by Medicare or health insurance for these costs.” Unfortunately, these programs are only going to pay a limited amount for a short period of time. Medicaid is another program that helps pay for extended care costs, but will require assets to be “spent down” to minimal levels before covering anything. Planning for extended care risk is critical and should not be overlooked. Many people “Roll the Dice” and potentially jeopardized their retirement nest egg from lack of planning. This should not be considered a strategy.
The Pinnacle Wealth team would be happy to sit down with you. Let us assist in setting up a game plan and prepare for this serious risk. Don’t wait until it’s too late! To close with a famous quote, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”