November was Long-Term Care Awareness Month. While November is behind us, any month is good for learning about long term care insurance. Even the U.S. Congress has urged “the people of the United States to recognize (this) as an opportunity to learn more about the potential risks and costs … and the options available.” We’re proud to support this important educational campaign.
Smart reasons to think about long-term care as part of your overall financial plan.
You protect against other risks like a car accident or house fire. A need for long-term care is a risk to your savings and to your retirement. It will impact your family and loved ones. Just as it is smart to plan ahead for retirement, it’s smart to plan now for long-term care. Here are some things you should know:
- Buy before age 65; avoid the high cost of waiting.
Your age and your health are important factors that determine the cost of long-term care insurance protection. Costs are based on your age at application and go up each year. By waiting to purchase until you are closer to retirement you might find it’s just too expensive to buy this important protection. - At younger ages you can lock in good health special savings.
Your good health today can help you ‘lock in’ preferred health discounts that won’t change even if your health does. If you currently have a health condition it’s especially important to find out if you can health-qualify before it may get worse. - Discounts can help significantly reduce the cost.
I believe you will be surprised by how affordable long-term care insurance protection can be for some of the newer plans suited for people your age. Today, there are ways to reduce the cost of long-term care insurance; savings available when you plan ahead.
- The first step is in your hands.
Getting the information you need to make an informed decision is always a smart move. Waiting is never advantageous.
P.S. There’s a saying: Failure to Plan is a Plan For Failure.
Source: American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance
If you’ve considered long term care insurance but thought it would be better to self-insure, here is an interesting article from John Hancock, a leader in the long-term care insurance industry. Click here to read the article.
