Except--no one is forcing us to buy LTCI (yet). I can put up with all kinds of foolishness if I'm not required t fund it.
Yet is the key word. Who wants to bet LTC is tied in with single payer healthcare within 15 years...
Except--no one is forcing us to buy LTCI (yet). I can put up with all kinds of foolishness if I'm not required t fund it.
Yet is the key word. Who wants to bet LTC is tied in with single payer healthcare within 15 years...
From what you've said about your future expectations, maybe you should spend some time with people like my father's "mild cognitive impairment" shading toward dementia.I bought into LTC insurance a while back. I'm seriously considering cancelling it.
One issue is that LTC premiums may be a waste of money yet still keep going up with no end in sight. The other side of that issue is that many philanthropies and beneficiaries would rather not see us suffering on Medicaid as a result of having canceled our LTC policies and exhausting our savings.
Spouse and I don't have LTC insurance either. We're sure hoping that we're self-insured.
I'd add "state governments" to the list. States have a full-court press on to get people to buy LTCI, since it lowers their Medicaid costs That's why some allow LTCI premiums to be deducted from income for state tax purposes, and why many have signed on to the "partnership" that allows LTCI policyholders who are receiving care to qualify for Medicaid when their LTCI benefits run out even though they still have large amounts of their personal funds remaining. All of this is to encourage folks to sign up for LTCI, which helps reduce state expenses.The other side of that issue is that many philanthropies and beneficiaries would rather not see us suffering on Medicaid as a result of having canceled our LTC policies and exhausting our savings.
I bought into LTC insurance a while back. I'm seriously considering cancelling it.
As long as you can afford about $70,000 a year for in-home care when you need it, and also keep your SWR under 4%, you should be set.........
... A close family friend had Alzheimer's and wanted to stay in her house . Health care was arranged but the person in charge was older and lived a few hours away . The house was literally stripped of antiques and valuable silver and the care was awful . We finally stepped in and placed her in a Nursing Home nearby . Where she lived with excellent care for years .
We are also going the self insure path. We have a VG Target Retirement fund into which we pay $500/month and is included in our annual expenses budget. (This fund is outside our retirement invstments and not counted in our SWR calculations).
We are both age 55 and the fund has over $21k in it now. If / when we need nursing home care we are hoping that the fund will be by then large enough to supplement our income to afford whatever nursing care we need. Life is a gamble, but we have retired with a planned initial SWR of 2.5%.
From WeathTrack Transcript 11/05/2010:
MARY BETH FRANKLIN: And the most important thing, when people are looking at long-term care insurance, aside from going with a solid insurance company that's going to be there 10 or 20 years from now, is the inflation protection. Because, if you buy something with, say, a $200-a-day benefit now, without inflation protection, ...
From WeathTrack Transcript 11/05/2010:
MARY BETH FRANKLIN: And commit to continue to pay those premiums for as long as you need them. Because, if you pay them for 10 years and then drop it because your premium went up, you just wasted 10 years of premiums.
From WeathTrack Transcript 11/05/2010:
MARY BETH FRANKLIN: And sometimes people will buy an annuity, just for the point of having these payouts to fund their long-term care insurance. And that's one strategy, is that, you know this part is covered.
The free lunch only occurs if you do not have any assets (Medicaid)...
...
Wow. Is Mary Beth a shill for the insurance industry? Buying an annuity to fund premium payments for LTC doubles the profit opportunity for the insurers - and effectively increases the cost of the LTC premiums through added annuity fees.
I guess I just still feel we are well enough off to go the self insure route. We currently have an income stream of $100k/year using pensions and a 2% SWR. We have a separate fund that we'll continue to put money into for extra income for LTC should we need it, and yes, I'm gambling we won't need until we at least are well into our 70's.
Good luck, I couldn't find such a policy (with shared benefits) when I was looking.I'd like to look at policies with a 2 year waiting period followed by 10 years of coverage (inflation adjusted). I know we can cover 2 years ourselves. And 5 - 6 - 7 yrs or more would really, really be painful and life changing.
Good luck, I couldn't find such a policy (with shared benefits) when I was looking.
I'm gambling that if my LTC self-insurance fund falls short I'll be too demented to notice the quality of the Friskies being served in the cafeteria.I guess I just still feel we are well enough off to go the self insure route... and yes, I'm gambling we won't need until we at least are well into our 70's.
I'm gambling that if my LTC self-insurance fund falls short I'll be too demented to notice the quality of the Friskies being served in the cafeteria.
Spouse keeps smiling, telling me she has me covered, and stockpiling her prescription painkillers...