October is Long-Term Care Awareness month. It’s the ideal opportunity to review how long-term care has changed over time and see what options are available to you now.
As Americans, we are living longer and longer each year and it is becoming more and more likely that we will require some sort of long-term health care, at some point in our lives. Depending on the length of care needed, that can be devastating to your financial situation.
Traditionally, people have purchased long-term care insurance to help protect against this devastation. They pay annual premiums and if they ever required long-term care, they access the benefits of the policy. However, if they pass away without ever needing long-term care, or a short duration of it, they would lose all of the premiums paid. It was a “use it or lose it” scenario. This, along with significant increases in premiums, have turned many people away from buying these traditional policies.
The insurance industry has evolved and there are many other solutions available. These solutions are called hybrid policies, and they provide additional benefits that traditional long-term care policies do not. For example, some of them are on a life insurance chassis. If you require long-term care, there is a benefit provided like any other policy. However, if you pass away with out using the long-term care benefit, there is a death benefit that passes to your family. Many of these policies also have access to the cash value should you need it at some point. It’s no longer “use it or lose it.”
If you haven’t discussed a long-term care solution with your advisor recently, I recommend you do so. And go in with an open mind. There are a lot of great solutions out there these days and there might just be one that fits your situation perfectly.
Ready to talk about long-term care? Contact your Ever Wealth advisor today!