Long term care insurance

[Anonymous]

I'm 60 & I have had it since I was 40, my mother had it and it was so helpful. Paid for her care in a memory unit. It was easy to access and was a life saver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Got a quote though nationwide for both single and for shared.

Single, 4 years of coverage, starts at $5k a month but compounds 3% a year starting in year one (at age 85 payout would be about $13k a month), $120k life insurance if never used (down dollar for dollar to guaranteed $24k life insurance if max benefits used), indemnity policy with 90 day elimination period (but after claim is approved you get four months of payment lump sum) for $70k-ish if paid in a lump sum or $8400 a year for ten years. Rate is locked.

Shared is eight years with $180k life insurance (or $18k if benefits used). Same other terms for $120k-ish lump sum or about $14,300 a year spread out over ten years.

My mom is now up to $38k a month when you add in her 24/7 caregivers. And she’s needed help for 2.5 years so far although in retrospect I probably should have moved her into assisted living a year earlier. My dad only needed additional care for about a month with cancer because we took care of him at home (although this policy does pay out for family and friend caregivers). If he’d had insurance maybe we would have sought help sooner. Either way I think a four year plan per person is more than enough. I’m actually having them quote me a six year shared.

It’s a ton of money for these policies but this is a potentially catastrophic event that can be somewhat mitigated with the insurance. I’m still on the fence but leaning toward it. Probably panicking because I’m in the thick of it right now. My mom’s cost of care is probably cumulative $500k+ at this point. And that’s at today’s rates. And although she’s been placed into hospice she’s been bouncing back since that last fall (probably due to the 24/7 caregivers).

I’m really sorry for what you are going thru.

Leaving aside the COLA for now it sounds like this policy costs $70k and pays a max of $240k over 4 years. I guess I’d think about what I could do with that 70k as an alternative.

These questions aren’t easy but if you have the ability to pay a six figure premium I wonder if you are the best candidate for insurance.

It’s $70k for the coverage but the payout would depend on when the coverage was needed. If I didn’t start taking the benefits until age 80 it would pay out $591k if I used all four years due to the 3% compound interest.

If I started taking benefits in the first year the total four year payout would be $251k.

I get it. My point was just that if you are 52 then that money would grow to about $465k by 80 if you make 7% returns on it (which isn’t guaranteed but isn’t a crazy aggressive assumption either).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I purchased LTC in early 30s (now 50s) and pay $900/year for $50k/year coverage. Unlimited coverage period.

I did it because a relative needed rehab care after an accident in their 30s
and LTC would have covered costs for their 6 months of rehab (or in my case…would cover some of the costs as those costs would exceed call it $4500/month though hard to know how normal insurance plays into it).

Figured it’s a small price to pay for some financial backstop and have assets to cover the rest (hopefully).

That is not a big payout and you’ve been paying for 20 years? If you took that same money and just invested it by the time you needed it I don’t know how much of a difference it would be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I purchased LTC in early 30s (now 50s) and pay $900/year for $50k/year coverage. Unlimited coverage period.

I did it because a relative needed rehab care after an accident in their 30s
and LTC would have covered costs for their 6 months of rehab (or in my case…would cover some of the costs as those costs would exceed call it $4500/month though hard to know how normal insurance plays into it).

Figured it’s a small price to pay for some financial backstop and have assets to cover the rest (hopefully).

That is not a big payout and you’ve been paying for 20 years? If you took that same money and just invested it by the time you needed it I don’t know how much of a difference it would be.

Because you assume it’s only paying out when you are 70+ vs at 35 (hence the accident example).

This is what people keep ignoring about LTC…it covers you at any age.

How much do you pay for car insurance when you never have an accident, homeowners when you never file a claim?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I purchased LTC in early 30s (now 50s) and pay $900/year for $50k/year coverage. Unlimited coverage period.

I did it because a relative needed rehab care after an accident in their 30s
and LTC would have covered costs for their 6 months of rehab (or in my case…would cover some of the costs as those costs would exceed call it $4500/month though hard to know how normal insurance plays into it).

Figured it’s a small price to pay for some financial backstop and have assets to cover the rest (hopefully).

That is not a big payout and you’ve been paying for 20 years? If you took that same money and just invested it by the time you needed it I don’t know how much of a difference it would be.

Because you assume it’s only paying out when you are 70+ vs at 35 (hence the accident example).

This is what people keep ignoring about LTC…it covers you at any age.

How much do you pay for car insurance when you never have an accident, homeowners when you never file a claim?

The likelihood is much higher that you’re gonna have a car accident or homeowner issue when you’re younger than that you’re gonna need LTC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I purchased LTC in early 30s (now 50s) and pay $900/year for $50k/year coverage. Unlimited coverage period.

I did it because a relative needed rehab care after an accident in their 30s
and LTC would have covered costs for their 6 months of rehab (or in my case…would cover some of the costs as those costs would exceed call it $4500/month though hard to know how normal insurance plays into it).

Figured it’s a small price to pay for some financial backstop and have assets to cover the rest (hopefully).

That is not a big payout and you’ve been paying for 20 years? If you took that same money and just invested it by the time you needed it I don’t know how much of a difference it would be.

Because you assume it’s only paying out when you are 70+ vs at 35 (hence the accident example).

This is what people keep ignoring about LTC…it covers you at any age.

How much do you pay for car insurance when you never have an accident, homeowners when you never file a claim?

The likelihood is much higher that you’re gonna have a car accident or homeowner issue when you’re younger than that you’re gonna need LTC.

Not really...the fastest growing claimant group for LTC by far is 30-60 and the %age of claimants under 65 is now 35%.

The point is that most car accidents aren't massively expensive for the most part, and in fact most homeowners' claims aren't massively expensive either. It's rare to have a homeowners' claim over $25,000 with the median at $15,000.

Obviously, people think of Florida and your house getting wiped out, which is why now those premiums are coming to $15k-$20k per year.

[Anonymous]

I specifically chose a policy that has no restrictions on how the money is used and does not require submitting receipts and waiting for reimbursement. If I ever need to pull the trigger, the company simply sends me a check each month to use however I wish--for a nursing home, for an in-home caregiver, for a driver, for whatever I want.

[Anonymous]

My mother had a very good LTC policy that she started paying into in her 50s. At 83, when she started to decline and I was finally able to get into her finances, I discovered that she had just forgotten to pay the premiums for 2 years (there's like a one year reinstatement possibility). A tragedy because she was already mid stage dementia and is now in memory care and could have used that money (plus she lost how much she put into it over the years).

We are considering a life insurance policy with a long term care rider. Our financial advisor suggested Lincoln Money guard Market Advantage. If you don't use it, it becomes a death benefit for your spouse/heirs, there are various options for inflation protection, return of premium, etc. If you do, the money that you invest either at once or over 10 years (you can shape the portfolio) is income tax free for qualified expenses which can be in home care or assisted living, memory care, etc. Its a lot better than what happened with my mom, which was to pay a shit ton into insurance and then lose it with no benefit whatsoever. I'm still trying to wrap my head around whether its better to do the insurance product or start to build a robust health savings account. Not sure I could put enough in there for significant long term care though since I'm starting in my 50s.