When Should I Start Looking into Long-Term Care?

You can bet that you won't need long-term care in your lifetime, but it’s not a sure thing: about 70% of seniors 65 and older require long-term care at some point. That could be just a few months with a home health aide or it could mean a year (or more) of nursing home care. You can’t know for sure. However, without long-term care insurance, you run the risk that you'll be forced to cover a very large expense on your own.

The Motley Fool’s recent article, “75% of Older Americans Risk This Major Expense in the Future,” says many older workers are going into retirement without long-term care coverage in place. In a recent Nationwide survey, 75% of future retirees aged 50 and over said they that don't have long-term care insurance. If that's you, you should begin considering it, because the older you get, the more difficult it becomes to qualify, and the more expensive it becomes.

Long-term care insurance can be costly, which is why many people don’t buy it. However, the odds are that your policy won't be anywhere near as expensive as the actual price for the care you could end up needing. That's why it’s important to look at your options for long-term care insurance. The ideal time to apply is in your mid-50s. At that age, you're more likely to be approved along with some discounts on your premiums. If you wait too long, you'll risk being denied or seeing premiums that are prohibitively expensive.

Note that not all policies are not the same. Therefore, you should look at what items are outside of your premium costs. This may include things such as the maximum daily benefit the policy permits or the maximum time frame covered by your policy. It should really be two years at a minimum. There are policies written that have a waiting period for having your benefits kick in and others that either don't have one or have shorter time frames. Compare your options and see what makes the most sense.

You don't necessarily need the most expensive long-term care policy available. If you've saved a good amount for retirement, you'll have the option of tapping your IRA or 401(k) to cover the cost of your care. The same is true if you own a home worth a lot of money, because you can sell it or borrow against it.

It’s important to remember to explore your options for long-term care insurance, before that window of opportunity shuts because of age or health problems. Failing to secure a policy could leave you to cover what could be a devastatingly expensive bill.

Reference: Motley Fool (September 23, 2019) “75% of Older Americans Risk This Major Expense in the Future”