Had no obligation meeting with a financial advisor, looking for feedback

[VanWinkle]

I doubt the staff care who pays. The poor LPNs are still doing dangerous work for carp pay. A million years ago when I worked in a SNF it seemed the people that had regular visitors received the best care.

Does anyone know of a LTC policy that kicks in after year 3 or 5 and pays till death? I guess after 3 years straight in that sort of living hell I wouldn't care if Medicaid pays though.

I have heard of policies with large time lapse deductibles like 1 year or 18 months. I would think they would be more reasonable than first day coverage.

 

[EastWest Gal]

True that many folks don't last long in AL/Memory care. Mom & Dad recently died in Memory care. One woman had been in Memory are for 13 years. Another for 7 years i think. Her husband would visit her every day and stay most of the day. Very sad.

Mom was in Skilled Nursing for a couple weeks and the bills there were $$$. My brother was the Health Care person for them & I think he said it was $10k/mo. The memory care was like $5k/mo. So a long stay in Skilled Nursing could be catastrophic in a hurry. But I think Mom & Dad were one of the few Private pay. Everybody else was Medicare. (maybe that was why the staff liked them!)

Correction: Medicare doesn’t pay for long term care. Medicaid would be the correct term.

 

[Scrapr]

Correction: Medicare doesn’t pay for long term care. Medicaid would be the correct term.

Thanks. I'm on neither so I get the programs mixed up.

I was being half facetious when I said that Mom & Dad got good care because of Private pay. My brother & SIL were daily visitors. Near the end it was 2x's a day. And i think that helped a lot.

The staff & aides were wonderful and caring in difficult circumstances. There was not too much turnover (that i could tell) and i think that helped a lot

 

[kgtest]

Had a young FA call me the other day. Ended up talking for about an hour but in the end he admitted his fees were higher than my current expense ratio... but he did offer me a job. If he was my elder, I might have accepted.

 

[loganbailey]

I manage my own investments, but decided to have a meeting with an advisor since there was no obligation. I will be 61 in a month, retired, no pension, no kids, heirs etc and have about $1.1 mm in assets with about 35% in tax deferred investments. No debts, live pretty frugally, in good health for now and withdraw about 3.2% of portfolio. I am thinking of taking SS at 67 and will get approximately $1400/month.

I told the advisor I was concerned about long term care since I have no LTC insurance and was thinking of a deferred annuity. He suggested putting $200,000 into a variable structure contract with an income guarantee, fee around 1.3%, could get around 6%. At present, I am not paying federal tax but pay state tax of 5.1%, so I was a little concerned about tax consequences of withdrawing $200,000. I believe I can have about a $37,000 gain without incurring federal tax so would that mean I would pay about $1900 in total to state on the gain?

Another thing he told me is that I do not have to be concerned about getting a reduction in SS in 2034 if the government does nothing about SS finances by then. He said ONLY people 41 years and younger would take a hit. Is that true? I thought we would ALL be looking at about a 22-25% reduction if NOTHING is done.

I was looking for feedback. Also, what are some of the best alternatives to LTC?

Thanks

That variable annuity fee is not 1.3%

It is probably

1.25% Mortality and Expense
1.3% Income Rider Fee
1-2% Subaccount management fee

If you bought this thing you probably want to use a free look asap.

-Former Annuity Wholesaler

 

[Islandtraveler]

I recently met with an FA through a free no obligation invitation. He hosted a tax in retirement seminar which was right up my ally. He spent about an hour with me mostly finding out about my objectives and situation. He made some generic recommendations but at the end of the session, he said that he could not help me and that my plan was solid. He was a fee only adviser and only asked that I would recommend his services to anyone that might need them. This guy was a class act and I certainly will do so. I wouldn’t meet with anyone representing a commissioned product.

 

[2177V]

Try Charles Schwab, Diet and Exercise & social planning

My advice: Talk to a Financial Advisor from a reputable company such as Charles Schwab. His Social Security Advice does not sound right. The Charles Schwab Financial Advisors are specialists. There is a FA on SS, FA on Long Term Health Insurance, FA on Trusts. Generally you will see a General FA but when there is a specific question, the General FA may refer you to a specialist. This is similar to the medical field. A FA that "knows it all" do not exist. This is why you should trust a reputable company and not a single person.

My advice on Long Term Health Insurance...I would concentrate on "diet and exercises". Consider investing money into dieticians such as Jenny Craig and gym membership. You have some control on your health. Have a health management plan. Can your wife and children look after you? If you don't...then OK.

For example, my wife is 20 years younger than I am and I treat her well because she will take care of me. I advised her to have a good friend who she trusts so that they can live together after I am gone. I told her that "Living alone is a death sentence". She already found a friend who agreed to live together, share and reduce expenses and take care of each other after their husbands pass away. In other words, Financial planning should include social and family planning as well.