David Lerner Associates: What You Need to Know about Retirement and Long-Term Care
A comfortable retirement is something to plan for and look forward to. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, most Americans are on track with their savings for retirement. But, and this is a big one, have you considered what would happen if you were hit with an additional half million dollars in health care costs? Would you be able to still maintain a comfortable retirement then? It’s highly doubtful that even the better off among us could withstand that.
Forbes called this the “wildcard that could destroy your retirement.” Time called it “the retirement crisis nobody talks about.” Those are quite a serious statements.
What are we talking about here? Long-Term Care. If you became disabled and needed daily help, you’d need extra money for that assistance, and no, Medicare doesn’t cover it.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
70% of people over 65 will need some form of long-term care at some point. For married couples, the chance that one spouse will need long-term care rises to 91%, according to AccuQuote.com. People living alone are more likely to need some sort of home health care. And women outlive men, and thus, are more likely to live alone and need some sort of home health care.
No wonder so many people are worried that they won't have enough money to cover health care costs in retirement, let alone make it through retirement in the lifestyle to which they are accustomed. It becomes clear that long-term care insurance becomes almost a necessity, rather than a luxury, after considering these things.
The problem is that it’s expensive because the risk is high for the insurance company. As people live longer, there is a much greater chance that they will need the benefit at some point and that they will need it for longer periods.
But the wrong thing to do is nothing. If you are smart, you owe it to yourself to investigate the options, and make an informed decision on the subject. Starting early, limiting years of coverage, and accepting longer elimination periods before coverage kicks in will all help in keeping premiums tolerable. And the bottom line is that you really don’t want to have an unfortunate turn of events ruin your retirement, or indeed your life.
link https://www.davidlerner.com/insurance.aspx
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Material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be used in connection with the evaluation of any investments offered by David Lerner Associates, Inc. This material does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.
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David Lerner Associates does not provide tax or legal advice. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. Member FINRA & SIPC.