Long term care insurance

[Anonymous]

We are starting to consider this but I'm overwhelmed by it. The process. The choices.

Do you have LTC insurance? If so what and would you recommend?
What sort of things should I be on the lookout for?

[Anonymous]

Never get it without inflation built in.

Look at the price of care where you live (or are likely to land in old age). That will give you a sense of how much coverage you need.

Having benefits that include home care are good because you may prefer that (if it is an option).

I have the plan offered to Federal employees, which has gone up in cost alot, more than once.

Make sure your company is in good financial shape, because several have gone under.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of threads in this, so I’d suggest a search for more details, but the bottom line is that most LTC policies are not a good deal for most people. No guarantee against policy increases as you age and limited payout. The good policies that people had in the past don’t really exist anymore (because the companies lost money on them).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are lots of threads in this, so I’d suggest a search for more details, but the bottom line is that most LTC policies are not a good deal for most people. No guarantee against policy increases as you age and limited payout. The good policies that people had in the past don’t really exist anymore (because the companies lost money on them).

+1

[Anonymous]

Our financial advisor just advised us that it's not necessary in our case. FYI, we are in our early 60s, have already been retired for years, and have a net worth of about 5.5 million outside of our primary and second homes. Based on what we have and how we spend, we were advised that we are well equipped and in fact likely better off to go without it.

[Anonymous]

Op, who do you trust that you can ask. For us, it's 2 close friends who are physicians, one physician who's a geriatric specialist, a friend who's an administrator of a nursing home. In our world, these friends don't have it. No decision or advice is perfect, but I'm going with advice from people I know.

[Anonymous]

We were really surprised to find out that no particular nursing home is obligated to accept your LTC insurance. We were fortunate that when we suddenly needed to find a facility for our mom there was one available that took her insurance. If you think you might want to end up at a particular place some day make sure they take whatever your insurance is. Of course that could change.

[Anonymous]

In general, it is definitely not worth it.

[Anonymous]

No, I plan to self insure. I also have no interest in wasting away in diapers in a $15,009 a month memory care unit. Just OD me.

[Anonymous]

The new policies are expensive but are a bit different than those available in the past. There are three types of LTC policies that I know of:

Type 1: A cash indemnity policy where you get a payout once you can no longer perform two activities of daily living — the money is yours to do whatever you want with it (Securian III is one of these I think). In other words, you don’t submit receipts. These are bought in increments of coverage like 5 years or 3 years.

Type 2: Traditional policies like the federal policy where you pay a yearly rate that can go up, but increases are regulated by the state. For these once you can no longer perform 2 ADLs and have LTC expenses, you submit receipts and get reimbursed by the policy.

Type 3: Hybrid policy that combines LTC with life insurance. You pay a fixed amount into the policy and then are done paying. This is a reimbursement policy where you would submit receipts, but if you don’t use the policy what you paid is payable to your heirs as a death benefit. Some offer unlimited lifetime benefits (OneAmerica).

Like all insurance it’s hard to talk about it as a “good deal” or not. If you have a family history of dementia, Parkinson’s or something like that it can be good to have a safety net. In DC the nice memory places cost $120k a year or more. People are living longer and it’s less likely family members can care for seniors at home because of modern life.

Probably most people can self insure in this area because it’s so affluent. But these policies are really for people who do the math and realize if they defy the odds they or their spouse might run out of money.

[Anonymous]

Np. Me neither, but that’s exactly what my FIL is doing. It’s my in-laws money, and fortunately they have enough. But not sure how long it will drag on and deplete my MIL’s nest egg. I bought a whole life policy for myself for peace of mind for my family. I’m at risk for a genetic disorder (haven’t tested for and the policy questionnaire did not ask about). The disease if it develops is horribly disabling and ultimately fatal. I didn’t want my kids to ever think I didn’t provide for my own care vs take from their future inheritance. I only bought a $300k policy. My father lived in another (low cost, but good care- his native place) country with the condition for nearly a decade, requiring major surgeries and all around home care. This would cover me if I did the same, but maybe not in the US.

[Anonymous]

To clarify- the policy I bought could be used for long term care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, who do you trust that you can ask. For us, it's 2 close friends who are physicians, one physician who's a geriatric specialist, a friend who's an administrator of a nursing home. In our world, these friends don't have it. No decision or advice is perfect, but I'm going with advice from people I know.

Spouse is a VP in the LTC industry. Has always been responsible for payment issues (mainly when payment doesn’t happen). Knows everything about everything about who pays for what and how much. And I work in insurance. We don’t carry LTC insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, who do you trust that you can ask. For us, it's 2 close friends who are physicians, one physician who's a geriatric specialist, a friend who's an administrator of a nursing home. In our world, these friends don't have it. No decision or advice is perfect, but I'm going with advice from people I know.

Spouse is a VP in the LTC industry. Has always been responsible for payment issues (mainly when payment doesn’t happen). Knows everything about everything about who pays for what and how much. And I work in insurance. We don’t carry LTC insurance.

This should be an award-winning post right here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our financial advisor just advised us that it's not necessary in our case. FYI, we are in our early 60s, have already been retired for years, and have a net worth of about 5.5 million outside of our primary and second homes. Based on what we have and how we spend, we were advised that we are well equipped and in fact likely better off to go without it.

Ok . . . we are not worth 5.5 mil outside our single home. So, that's great but not applicable to our regular salaried incomes and net worth.