Long Term Care Insurance

[spider]

Every couple years during open enrollment my company offers long-term care and an agent comes out for a session if you want to hear. I've gone a couple times and what sounds like "just sign up" on the blurbs turns out to be much more complicated and with all sorts of restrictions. And it was much more expensive than it sounded like it would be. I lost interest and figured my family mostly drops dead one day, I'll probably be OK.

[GTMike]

In my experience i think i really lucked out.

I had previously paid into a Life Insurance product (that essentially acted like you were investing in a bond with a death benefit), but have decided without dependents no longer needed it. I was able to convert it tax free into a different Life Insurance product with a LTC "rider".

It's not cheap but a portion of the premium pays for a typical death benefit that is always good. A different portion get's invested that grows the Policy value and cash surrender value with market based returns. (So there is that risk but the policy is intended to be invested in for decades.)

The policy is very flexible in that you can also borrow against the cash surrender value and it's locked in at a very favorable rate. ( Part of the luck because i happened to get the policy when rates were rock bottom a few years ago), and you just pay it back to yourself.

If you happen to meet your maker the death benefit covers any outstanding loan amounts and the surplus balance goes to your designated beneficiary.

Also though let's say if we're lucky and healthy into our 70's and 80's you can opt to start withdrawing from it like any other brokerage account.

Or alternatively if you think at that time you might need it as monthly LTC insurance you can use it that way up to the maximum amount of the death benefit.

Again it is expensive but i look at the policy acts as a forced savings and investment account, which has the flexibitly to be used as a long-term retirement market based asset.

Or if I meet a really lucky sugar baby he can have a lot of fun at my expense and demise as a life insurance policy hahaha, or as I age can use it a quasi self-bank loan, and/or as nearing end of life could opt to use it strictly as a LTC insurance policy if needed.

[Thelatin]

I was fortunate as well that my parents bought it dirt cheap 30 years ago.  It paid 100% of my mothers stay towards her last 5 years.  Eventually it will kick in for dad.  Between that and social security their estate has basically stayed flat.

But those sorts of plans are no longer available.

[handiacefailure]

WIsh I could get it.   My grandmother was doing good financially on her own but when she had to go in a nursing home, it wiped her out in a few years.   I'm a type 1 diabetic and even though I don't smoke and take care of myself better than most non-diabetics insurance companies won't even consider covering me 

[+ Unicorn]

My LTC insurance policy premiums have been increasing astronomically. I've had to limit coverage to 5 years to keep it affordable. I suppose LTC for over 5 years is pretty unlikely. 

[Quincy_7]

The best form of LTC insurance is to take care of yourself and eat healthy when you're in your prime. A nursing home should be something you're actively trying to avoid in your old age.

It's possible that you may need a nurse to visit you at home a couple times a week or maybe even daily but that's something you can anticipate and invest for decades in advance.

[Jim_n_NYC]

On 2/18/2023 at 8:47 PM, Quincy_7 said:

The best form of LTC insurance is to take care of yourself and eat healthy when you're in your prime. A nursing home should be something you're actively trying to avoid in your old age.

It's possible that you may need a nurse to visit you at home a couple times a week or maybe even daily but that's something you can anticipate and invest for decades in advance.

LOL, not all of us around here HAVE decades.

edit: wasn't trying to insult anyone else, but I just passed the same age at which one of my parents died of cancer and, weirdly, I had some basel cell removed this year.  Fate is pretty weird.  Luckily the other parent lived for another 20 years.

Edited February 20, 2023 by Jim_n_NYC

[+ Unicorn]

22 hours ago, Quincy_7 said:

The best form of LTC insurance is to take care of yourself and eat healthy when you're in your prime. A nursing home should be something you're actively trying to avoid in your old age.

It's possible that you may need a nurse to visit you at home a couple times a week or maybe even daily but that's something you can anticipate and invest for decades in advance.

I can surmise that you've never had to take care of a parent or spouse who really required long-term care. A person can have dementia and really require someone to be present 24 hours due to behavioral issues such as sundowning. This is the most common, but certainly not the only condition which requires a caregiver be present almost all of the time. Other such conditions include hip fractures, visual loss, some strokes, Parkinsonism, Lewy Body Disease, ALS, and so on. 

Edited February 20, 2023 by Unicorn

[GeoMitch]

On 2/18/2023 at 8:47 PM, Quincy_7 said:

The best form of LTC insurance is to take care of yourself and eat healthy when you're in your prime. A nursing home should be something you're actively trying to avoid in your old age.

It's possible that you may need a nurse to visit you at home a couple times a week or maybe even daily but that's something you can anticipate and invest for decades in advance.

Nursing homes are FULL of old people who took care of themselves and now linger from dementia, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.  

I would gather that the ones who didn't take care of themselves, generally died quicker and earlier.