What Is Long Term Care Insurance?

Like many insurance policies, the goal is to sign up for long-term care insurance well before you need it so that the benefits are there in the event of an unexpected issue.

Many retirees can realize that the same amount of money they have projected to cover their vacation, property taxes and food after the workforce will also have to support their long-term care in their older years.

Approximately half of the US population, according to research from the US Department of Health and Human Services, will need long-term care services and support, such as payments to live in an assisted living community or an in-home caregiver.

Many Americans will pay much higher than the national average for those services of $140,000. Long-term custodial care represents a significant threat to a couple’s retirement savings and one way to minimize this risk is to leverage long-term care insurance which offers one way to prepare for in-home nursing care or extended stays in certain assisted living facilities while protecting your overall retirement funds.

Most LTC insurance policies will cover costs related to staying in an assisted living facility, nursing home or adult day care. It will not cover medical expenses, however. A doctor will have to verify that you meet the appropriate level of support for long-term care services. 

You will need assistance with at least two of the five activities of daily living, which are feeding, toileting, transferring, dressing and bathing. For more information about how to protect your interests and whether or not long-term care insurance makes sense for you, schedule a consultation with an attorney.