Today, about 6% of the cost of long-term care is paid by private insurance. That’s because so few have planned for this expense. If you think about it, longevity is new to humankind. It’s really only two or three generations old. Longevity brings with it new requirements like retirement financial planning. And, long-term care expense
For most Americans there are just three funding options to pay for long-term care expenses. Original Medicare, even with a Medicare supplemental policy, is not one of them. Recent changes allowed by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) for Medicare Advantage plans may cover some custodial needs if health related, but consumers need to
Outliving income is a major concern for many Americans. Long-term care is a likely expense for 70% of Americans age 65 and older and can quickly deplete savings and investments. For most Americans there are just three funding options: self-fund using income and assets, long-term care insurance or qualifying for Medicaid which is government assistance
Help me out here. Do you buy insurance hoping you will use it? Really? Most of us don’t. We buy insurance to offset risk. The premise being we pay a small amount to offset large or catastrophic expense. Unlike other insurance products — auto insurance where we see roughly one claim in 300 policies or
One of the best and most awaited tools in the long-term care insurance industry is the Genworth Financial annual cost of care survey. It offers costs of care venues in a user friendly interactive format and enables financial advisors, insurance producers and consumers to understand the median cost of care venues in 435 regions in
If long-term care insurance (LTCI) premiums were fully deductible on federal and state taxes, do you think more people would be inclined to purchase coverage? We do. Today, premiums on tax-qualified long-term care insurance policies may be deductible depending on how policyholders file federal taxes. In most cases the amount of the deduction is restricted
In previous blogs, we’ve written about the shortage of caregivers and the likelihood that many baby boomers are destined to be elder orphans. In his Think Big article on robo-caregiving, Joseph F. Coughlin, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab, explores how our aging demographics and advances in technology are creating innovative changes in
Ever talk with friends about aging? Been to your 50th high school reunion? Consider that in 1935 when Social Security (Old Age Survivor and Disability Insurance) began the average life expectancy was 62. Today it’s approaching 84 for men and 86.5 for women. And some suggest that 67 might be the new marker of old
Try to think past today. It’s hard to do because we are so focused on work, family, politics and social issues that take up all of our available time. But that can leave the future unplanned. A pretty common concern today is outliving money planned for retirement. Do you think you will live a long
People will continue to age. We are living longer and the longer we live the greater the chance that we will need long-term care. The government projections are that by the time we reach age 65 that 70% of us will experience a long-term care event. Today, as in years past, the majority of care
