Long-Term Care Insurance

[nuke_diver]

I did a search but nothing came up. I read that the time to buy this is between 55-65 but wonder if it is really something that is worth getting and if people that are retired or near so actually do buy it. I haven't done a ton of research on it so I'm not sure of all the details. Like all insurance it is presumably something you don't want to have to use but have just in case. Depending on the cost and conditions it could be worth having.

This might not be the right forum but I wasn't sure where else to post this.

[REWahoo]

You might want to try your search again - there are dozens of threads on this subject.

Long Term Care Search

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo You might want to try your search again - there are dozens of threads on this subject. Long Term Care Search

+1

It might be worth updating this FAQ from 2007

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...nce-30860.html

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan It might be worth updating this FAQ from 2007 http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...nce-30860.html

Yes, "Put a Mod to Work" week is coming up soon!

[nuke_diver]

hmmm I did both a regular and advanced search nothing came up. I didnt do a google search

Thanks for the link

[MichaelB]

Nothing? REWahoo's link has many pages of forum links, and here are a few that came up with my search (titles = long term care)

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...icy-66372.html

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...nce-70689.html

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...nce-71567.html

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...nce-71748.html

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Yes, "Put a Mod to Work" week is coming up soon!

Great project opportunity for emeritus types that suddenly have some extra free time.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Great project opportunity for emeritus types that suddenly have some extra free time.

I would have done but us emeritus types have had our powers removed and that FAQ thread is closed

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan I would have done but us emeritus types have had our powers removed and that FAQ thread is closed

There is truth in your words, Kemosabe.

[eidel1948]

I have LTC insurance and bought it when I was 55 and am now 65. If you plan to buy LTC remember the older you are the more it will cost.

I plan to sell my home and move near family where I will live in a 65+ rental community, not a CCRC. My LTC will pay for care-givers to come to my home, should I need it.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eidel1948 I have LTC insurance and bought it when I was 55 and am now 65. If you plan to buy LTC remember the older you are the more it will cost.

And the younger you buy it, the more opportunities your insurer will have to jam you with rate increases.

[OrcasIslandBound]

We bought it in our mid thirties. We have family histories on both sides that scared us. We're now both 56 and have seen only one 70% rate increase! ☺ Would we buy it now again? Yes, but I would try to find a policy that would limit the rate increases.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

[nuke_diver]

Thanks to some of the links I think LTC insurance may not be a good choice for me. Both my wife and I are healthy so while we might be able to get an ok rate the fact that there seems to be few ways to guarantee a policy that does not increase or otherwise losing it a longevity annuity seems to be a better choice in our case but more research is needed. Unfortunately I cannot get an idea of what the costs of LTCi is without giving a lot of personal information first and I am not that far along to commit that kind of information to a company I may never do business with...I get enough spam as it is :P

[friar1610]

I don't know if you have any federal connection but here is a plan that I bought into a number of years ago. It's a joint Government/private plan (run by a private insurer but overseen by the gummint.)

https://www.ltcfeds.com

As a retired military guy, I was part of the "federal family" as they called it then. Because I was retired at the time, my wife and I had to fill out health questionnaires but we were still accepted.

There has been a rate increase once (after 5 years, IIRC) but I opted to keep the premium the same and reduce the automatic annual inflation increase from 5% to 4%.

[Options]

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but personally found it very informative regarding estimates/probability of needing long-term care:

The Retirement Cafe: Long Term Care Insurance

[target2019]

I help manage finances for in-laws. Spouse pays the bills. Here is a real life situation. In 2005, two LTC premiums were $7500 total. The policies were started in the 90's, and the premiums were probably a few thousand at most in the beginning. $6,800 went to Schedule A medical in 2005. This pushed them beyond the standard deduction, but this factor is not enough to sway a decision one way or the other I feel.

In late 2011 they had to leave the house and move to independent living. This was about $4,200 rent per month, and doable with their monthly income. The LTC insurance premiums had grown to yearly $8,500. In a year or so M-I-L required more care (dementia) and the monthly rent went to $6,800 (M-I-L, acute care) + $3,600 (F-I-L, original apartment).

In late 2013, F-I-L moved to assisted living ($7,000 monthly rent). M-I-L monthly rent is now $7,500. LTC insurance reimburses these amounts in full. With the cap in their policies, we are looking at 4-5 years before the insurance is exhausted.

Now their monthly income goes all to investments. Without LTC there would be a lot of arguing amongst the children as to how to proceed with paying the additional costs. As it now stands these decisions were made by the in-laws quite a while ago.

In 2005 I would have been one who said the LTC premiums were a waste, but now have a different opinion. In some cases it makes sense obviously, but you need a detailed analysis and projection, and can't rely just on what a salesman says.