Long term care insurance

I've looked at it for my mother for years now and it just does not seem worth it.

Hate to be morbid, but trying to plan and account for length of stay really drives that home.

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The average age of participants when they moved to a nursing home was about 83. The average length of stay before death was 13.7 months, while the median was five months. Fifty-three percent of nursing home residents in the study died within six months.

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Men died after a median stay of three months, while women died after a median stay of eight months. Married participants died a median four months sooner than those who were unmarried. Participants in the highest quartile of net worth died a median six months sooner than those in the lowest quartile.

The differences in length of stay remained after the researchers adjusted for age, gender, marital status, health status, and other factors

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UCSF source

It anything would only look at it for your wife. Even then hoping that it will still exist and actually keep up with rising costs seems like a gamble. Especially when you might only need it a few months.

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just roll me out the back of the boat and get to getting on

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I am with you, but it just doesn't work that way. And you potentially get into issues of memory care, home nurses, etc. It is an incredibly hard issue, And it sometimes presents itself when a person is not that old. Dealing with my MIL has opened my eyes to how this works and how expensive it is.

If you have assets that you want to protect/pass down, LTC policies are good idea.

Financially, worst case scenario is you never have to spend a day in LTC facility which is blessing. Best case scenario is that you use it and your assets are protected.

Those places will suck you dry then give you the base minimum care until you die. Imagine your spouse goes into a facility without insurance, you sit there as this place hits you up for $10k per month until you have nothing. Your spouse dies and you are financially empty. Then when it’s your turn you don’t even get a shot at a decent place because you have no money and burden your children with your care.

I believe some policies have a cash death benefit if you don’t use it.

Some won't like my answer. A life insurance policy can serve the same purpose; the type that is with you for your whole life.

At 60, if no other assets, LTC policy is an option.

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Please elaborate and educate the rest of us...inquiring minds want to know.

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make friends with a medical professional who shares your opinion that quality of life means more than quantity. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how many doctors have common sense above profit motive

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our elderly have become no better than farm animals in those for profit long term care places. They WANT the dementia patients because they can milk those families dry and the patient can’t object.

it’s ghoulish and brilliant all at the same time

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Yup, my mom died from early onset ALZ, like around 55 she started showing significant signs. First tried a facility, family wasn't happy with the care and moved her home after 6 months and paid for at home care. She lived another 10 years. That shite is brutal. Plus LTC and nursing facilities in general have pretty bad employees and look what corona virus did to them. Best plan is to have enough money one can pay for it from assets. Absent that LTC or maybe move to a state that allows assisted death. It's stupid people don't have legal means to end their lives when they have no upside.

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it’s hell on earth and that’s a fact

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Yep, takes a special type of person to be able to give quality care in that environment every day and they are woefully underpaid for what they do.

LTC

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Is this a good idea for a couple approaching their 60s?

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LTC insurance is complicated and can be structured in a variety of ways. My wife’s policy is for 10 years at a lower rate/day because Alzheimer’s was a concern. My policy is for 3 years but at a higher rate/day.
Both have inflation riders which increases the pay out but the premium is higher of course. Those are just examples, there are other factors to consider as well.

The younger you buy it the lower the cost. If you have sufficient assets you can self insure; at the time we bought the rule of thumb for where we live was you didn’t need LTC if you had $2 million in retirement savings (don’t recall how SS factored in). Of course lots of folks don’t have $2mm & don’t buy LTC either.

If you have a medical issue some companies may not sell you a policy.

It takes some serious research to figure out if LTC insurance is a good “ bet”.

Life insurance policies often include hospitalization riders (cant perform 2 of the 6 daily living functions). They can also include critical care riders (60+ days in a hospital).

This allows you to advance the death benefit (or at least a good portion of it) while you still are alive.

The point would be to get a policy for yourself and a policy for your spouse. If you don't activate the early access rider, the death benefit still pays in full to beneficiaries when you pass.

It isnt long term care. But it is not a bad plan B assuming the insured's can qualify for life insurance application requirements (health).

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there a rule of thumb on death benefit advancement? I could be way off but I was under the impression the advancement on death benefit was if a physician thought the insured would die within twelve months.

Also, what portion of the death benefit do insurance companies generally allow for this?

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There are generally 2 types of advancement.
Terminal illness which could be defined by the policy as <24 months to love (policy could be 12 months if more strict).
Chronic illness which would need medical assistance with 2 of 6 daily living functions (policy could be 1-3 depending upon the carrier).

I've seen advancements range from 250k to 500k. Upwards of 90% of the death benefit. If the advancement cap is a concern, just purchase a second policy (i.e four $250k policies instead of 1 million dollar policy).

These can be on term and permanent life insurance products. But you will be hard pressed to find a decent term option stretch past the age of 80, so permanent is more appropriate if the living benefit is a strategy.