Your options range from conventional coverage to tapping your life insurance benefits.
YOU’VE HEARD IT BEFORE:
Long-term-care costs can shatter your retirement nest egg. The average cost of a private room in a nursing home is more than $100,000 per year, and the average amount of time people need some kind of long-term care is about three years.
But there are crucial nuances in real life. A frequently cited statistic says that if you’re 65 years old, there’s a 70% chance you’ll need long-term-care services during your lifetime— but that includes unpaid care by family. Plus, you may need care for only a few weeks or months.
A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projected that 48% of people turning 65 between 2015 and 2019 won’t need any paid care. But more than one-fourth will need more than $100,000 of care, and 15% will require care that costs more than $250,000. The bill could top $500,000 over five years for someone with dementia in a memory-care unit in a nursing home.
“Insurance would never have been invented if everybody were average,” says Claude Thau, an actuary and long-term-care consultant in Overland Park, Kan.
That’s why it’s important to assess the risks, says Jean Young of the Vanguard Center for Investor Research and co-author of a study analyzing health care costs in retirement. The study concludes, “Even if the probability of incurring expensive care is relatively low, the number is at a magnitude that is hard to ignore.”
Financial planners tend to start talking about longterm-care costs when their clients’ financial focus shifts from raising kids to envisioning retirement. Many people in their fifties and sixties have seen how much long-term care has cost their parents and want to protect some of their savings if they end up needing care themselves.
PERSONALIZE THE RISK
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2019 من Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 2019 من Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
FREE HELP FOR COLLEGEBOUND STUDENTS
This program’s mentors assist applicants as they fill out the FAFSA, write essays and more.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SPOUSAL IRAS
You typically need earned income to contribute to an individual retirement account, but a spousal IRA provides an important exception to this rule.
SELLING SHARES? HERE'S HOW TO MINIMIZE TAXES ON YOUR GAINS
ET'S say you've been regularly buying shares in a booming tech company over the past few years, but now you want to start taking some of those profits, perhaps to rebalance your portfolio.
Strategies for Novice Investors
AS part of a lifes kills program for young, single mothers, I was asked to teach a class on how to get on top of your finances.
ANSWERS TO YOUR 529 PLAN QUESTIONS
Thanks to recent policy changes, families have more options for what to do with money sitting in these tax-advantaged accounts.
Rate-Cut Winners and Losers
NOW that the Federal Reserve has cracked the interest rate ice, the next development will be to separate winners from losers.
SHOULD YOU BUY THESE RED-HOT FUNDS?
Covered-call ETFs are popular but come with plenty of caveats.
DIVIDEND STOCKS ARE READY TO REBOUND
Our favorite dividend payers are poised to benefit as falling interest rates lure investors back.
IS A 55+ COMMUNITY RIGHT FOR YOU?
These age-restricted developments appeal to older adults seeking abundant amenities and an active lifestyle.
AT LONG LAST, RATES ARE DROPPING
Consider these portfolio moves now that the Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate.