Feds, did you buy long term care?

[Anonymous]

Got email from:
https://www.ltcfeds.com/documents/index.html#utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=2018qualrel&utm_content=FLTCIP10182_qualrel_40plus_item1img_p2

Anyone have this? How much do you pay per person or per husband/wife?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Nope. I looked into it, and did some research and decided that it wasn't worth it. All long term care programs are underfunded and there is no guarantee that rates won't go up. So, you could pay in for 20-30 years, and have the rates skyrocket, just as you're getting old enough to use it.

http://time.com/money/4250147/long-term-care-insurance-rising-premiums/

https://federalnewsradio.com/benefits/2016/07/long-term-care-enrollees-get-coverage-options-higher-premiums-in-2017/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope. I looked into it, and did some research and decided that it wasn't worth it. All long term care programs are underfunded and there is no guarantee that rates won't go up. So, you could pay in for 20-30 years, and have the rates skyrocket, just as you're getting old enough to use it.

http://time.com/money/4250147/long-term-care-insurance-rising-premiums/

https://federalnewsradio.com/benefits/2016/07/long-term-care-enrollees-get-coverage-options-higher-premiums-in-2017/

Very helpful, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Best use of your money IMO is to buy a house you can age in place in. People end up needing long term care because they have difficulty with "eating, dressing, walking, bathing, and other daily activities". If you have an accessible house including kitchen and bathroom, you will go a long way to being able to manage in your own home and might be able to make do with some paid assistance, rather than needing 24 hour care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got email from:
https://www.ltcfeds.com/documents/index.html#utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=2018qualrel&utm_content=FLTCIP10182_qualrel_40plus_item1img_p2

Anyone have this? How much do you pay per person or per husband/wife?

Thank you!

I've had it since I was 32 or so. I pay around $160.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Best use of your money IMO is to buy a house you can age in place in. People end up needing long term care because they have difficulty with "eating, dressing, walking, bathing, and other daily activities". If you have an accessible house including kitchen and bathroom, you will go a long way to being able to manage in your own home and might be able to make do with some paid assistance, rather than needing 24 hour care.

That's not how it works. Parkinsons, Alzheimers, cancer, etc doesn't care what kind of house you have. They don't have problems with washing or dressing or eating because they are getting "old" and their house is inconvenient . No one needs assistance because the bathroom is on a different floor, it is because they might be very, very sick and need help with everything. People can get sick at any time all the way up to age 100. Ask someone what Parkinson's looks like at 70.

LTC is needed for help in the house, for care respite, or for a nursing home when one of us doesn't know who we are or who anyone else is.

The trouble is, many LTC care policies don't cover skilled nursing in a facility, or assisted living, and certainly not independent living. They will pay for a portion of in house care, but only after a sizable exclusionary length of time, and not all expenses, with qualified and approved personnel and a LOT of paperwork.

Buying into a continual care situation in the 80s covers everything. But what happens before then?

[Anonymous]

I'm being a bit facetious here, but really, the best thing you can do is find a spouse who is in good health.

Turns out, men tend to spend a lot less time in a nursing facility b/c they have wives who take care of them at home. Women, on the other hand, tend to out live their husbands and then there isn't anyone to take care of them in their final years -- so they end up in a facility.

Have you heard of the company called "A Place For Mom"? It's not called "a place for Dad" for a reason.

Of course, I didn't follow my own advice and I'm going to be in a nursing home in my later years... my spouse is 8 yrs older than me!

[Anonymous]

I got it for my husband because he's quite a bit older than I am.

I am now in the process of getting it for myself. What convinced me is watching my parents. My dad was always the one with the good health, the good mental health. My mom depended 100% on my dad to buy the food, take care of everything around the house. Then he was diagnosed with alzheimers. We ended up having to get 24-7 caretakers for the two of them and finally moving him to memory care. The costs were catastrophic. Although they had done no other planning, they had purchased LTC! THANK GOD! It covered a bunch of the costs even though there's a waiting period of a year. So I'm getting it now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got it for my husband because he's quite a bit older than I am.

I am now in the process of getting it for myself. What convinced me is watching my parents. My dad was always the one with the good health, the good mental health. My mom depended 100% on my dad to buy the food, take care of everything around the house. Then he was diagnosed with alzheimers. We ended up having to get 24-7 caretakers for the two of them and finally moving him to memory care. The costs were catastrophic. Although they had done no other planning, they had purchased LTC! THANK GOD! It covered a bunch of the costs even though there's a waiting period of a year. So I'm getting it now.

Have you found a plan that will cover an assisted living or nursing care- not at home?

[Anonymous]

I'd be really cautious about buying long term care right now.

There was a systemic mispricing issue across the industry. Insurance companies as a whole grossly miscalculated what their actual payouts would be, and are currently in the process of drastically raising rates to cover.

Honestly, my opinion is that LTC might be in a death spiral. The prices they would have to charge to cover actual costs will deter a lot of new signups.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2017/04/17/long-term-care-insurance-facing-major-pricing-shift/?utm_term=.b3b97dff1f07

[Anonymous]

I'm the poster who bought a policy at 32 years old. I'm a federal employee and bought the plan through them. Is that an option for you OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the poster who bought a policy at 32 years old. I'm a federal employee and bought the plan through them. Is that an option for you OP?

Thank you very much for your post, I am op and I really appreciate it.

Also thanks for everyone's input. In the beginning, I felt it might be a good thing because this is from feds and I am a federal employee. From their website, there are 4 or more package staring from around $160-200 per month, I could manage this amount, however, it will probably be raised higher and higher in the future. As many have said, it will only have limited coverage in the future.

I will do more research about it.

[Anonymous]

My mom bought LTC insurance when she was 50 and became seriously disabled from a stroke 2 years later. It has been an absolute godsend for us.

The things she looked for when she was shopping that have been so helpful:
--The plan has a total dollar cap, instead of a time limit on coverage
--The extinction period (amount of time you pay out of pocket before they start paying) is short...90 days.

Because she bought it so shortly before she became disabled and because you don't pay premiums when you are getting benefits, her plan is a massive loss for the company. On the other hand, my grandfather had one for which he paid premiums for a long time, but died only a few days after his extinction period ended. They made plenty on him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the poster who bought a policy at 32 years old. I'm a federal employee and bought the plan through them. Is that an option for you OP?

Thank you very much for your post, I am op and I really appreciate it.

Also thanks for everyone's input. In the beginning, I felt it might be a good thing because this is from feds and I am a federal employee. From their website, there are 4 or more package staring from around $160-200 per month, I could manage this amount, however, it will probably be raised higher and higher in the future. As many have said, it will only have limited coverage in the future.

I will do more research about it.

I purchased the federal ltc policy in 2009. At the time I bought the top of the line plan available. The contract was with john Hancock back then I believe. About a year or so ago the contract changed hands for the first time. I think it is now through met life (I may have this backwards)? The premiums did increase but they gave you a choice to reduce benefits and keep your premium the same. I elected to increase my premium and keep my benefit the same. I believe when I bought the plan in 2009 my premium was $70. In 2017 when the contract changed hands it went up to $160 if I wanted to keep my benefits the same. That was the first increase in costs I've seen since purchasing the policy.

[Anonymous]

My parent who are in their 80's have it and thank god they continue to be in good health. The downside is they have been paying for LTC for years (30?) and they haven't needed it until recently. It was a really annoying process for my father to qualify and find someone who would come for 2 or 3 hours, he really doesn't need much more. The care givers only need to dress him and help to bath him in the morning and he is fine after that. My dad could move into a assisted living facility and they would cover the cost for him and not for my mother! It is a nice safety net but I'm not convinced, my parents have spent loads of money and they premium went up a few years back.