Long Term Care Insurance for single Boomers

Steve-arino · #1 11-22-2019, 10:45 AM

I went through a divorce in my mid 50's. It was the right move (and amicable) yet I quickly realized that I was alone. Our kids were teen's at that point - about 9 years ago. At the time I had a couple of life insurance policies to help support our kids if I died before I was "ready" (another topic).

I quickly realized that I was alone. The kids were now in college, both with reasonable prospects of fine careers and income. The last thing I wanted was for the kids to have to take care of me should I have a major health issue that would require months, or years, of care.

Anyway, long story short, I decided to stop the life insurance payments and allocate those funds to LTC insurance. It's something I look back upon as a good decision for myself so I wanted to bring it up on this forum. I see lots of retirement discussions that mention spouses but I'd bet many of us are single and might be in a similar position.

Anyway - just a thought. May or may not be right for you - but certainly worth a lookup.

Knock on wood, Happy Thanksgiving - my kids are doing great.

Slothead56 · #2 11-22-2019, 11:05 AM

We just bought LTC insurance last year. It’s a Whole Life policy with a rider that will pay to the face value for LTC. It was pricey but I couldn’t find any thing about it that didn’t make sense. Hope I never have to use it for its intended purpose but it pays off if I croak too so that’s ok.

DenverSteve · #3 11-24-2019, 01:10 AM

I'm not single but we've had long-term care insurance for years.

Mr. Jelly · #4 11-24-2019, 08:40 AM

I am under the understanding, claiming ignorance here, that there usually is a time limit like a year or eighteen months on them. Is that true?

Kerbie · #5 11-24-2019, 08:57 AM

Probably my least-favorite type of insurance, but there are certainly people for whom it's an excellent choice. I've chosen to do it other ways.

M19 · #6 11-24-2019, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kerbie

Probably my least-favorite type of insurance, but there are certainly people for whom it's an excellent choice. I've chosen to do it other ways.

Me too. It involves an ice floe in Arctic.

However given the current climate I may have to develop a new abandonment tactic!

fitness1 · #7 11-24-2019, 10:23 AM

Seems to me, if you are single and planning on remaining that way - you are buying insurance to protect your savings for your children.....meaning that if you ever need long term care, you'll use your savings then Medicaid will kick in, which you've funded most of your adult life.

Most insurance is based on fear in my opinion - fear of losing something. If you are afraid that your kids won't get your savings, it's worth it. If you aren't, don't bother.

Of course just my humble opinion.

Steve-arino · #8 11-24-2019, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kerbie

Probably my least-favorite type of insurance, but there are certainly people for whom it's an excellent choice. I've chosen to do it other ways.

It's a very personal decision. My kids are in their 20's, both on career paths that need complete dedication at this point in their lives. I'm single and the last thing I'd want is for them to have to take time off to take care of dear old dad.

I bought it in my 50's so it's not terribly expensive. So that's more my point. If you want to consider LTC insurance check it out early so it's not crazy expensive. I do believe there are lots of single folks on this site that would do well to at least look at it and decide for themselves.

There are lots of threads on retirement/money/activities on the AGF but reality is that health will wane. If you are fortunate to have an extended family that can and will help when you need it the most that is GREAT! But I do think that there (many) folks that might benefit from looking at this option.

It's easy to throw to the curb if it's not for you. The policy I have has a 90 day waiting period and then ends after 3 years.

Steve-arino · #9 11-24-2019, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitness1

Seems to me, if you are single and planning on remaining that way - you are buying insurance to protect your savings for your children.....meaning that if you ever need long term care, you'll use your savings then Medicaid will kick in, which you've funded most of your adult life.

Most insurance is based on fear in my opinion - fear of losing something. If you are afraid that your kids won't get your savings, it's worth it. If you aren't, don't bother.

Of course just my humble opinion.

Interesting perspective.

fitness1 · #10 11-24-2019, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve-arino

The policy I have has a 90 day waiting period and then ends after 3 years.

The home I had to put Dad in 1 1/2 years ago was 8k a month - during the waiting period (unless it goes retroactive) you'll burn up most of 25k on top of what you've paid in already.

As you've said, it's all about what you can live with personally.....I'm single, 57 and no kids. I've tried to not worry too much about what MIGHT happen and tend to focus on taking care of myself as well as possible and sustaining quality of life as long as I can.

Due to many wise choices, I've managed to build a nice nest egg, even at a pretty low annual income. If there's anything left when I take my "nap", I'll figure out what I want to do with it then. If there's nothing left, and I've been counting on Medicaid to get me to the grave - that's OK too.

rokdog49 · #11 11-24-2019, 01:00 PM

As is always the case, this is a very subjective.
In my opinion this is one of the worst insurances you can buy.
Why, you ask?
Check out the monthly premiums for a $250,000 policy. Then multiply that times ten years or twenty. What would it look like after that amount of time if you took that money and invested it in some way?
The life insurance rider is for your family survivors or spouse. If that’s what you want, fine.
The Insurance company is betting you won’t need long term care for a long long time if ever. Statistics are overwhelmingly in their favor. It isn’t even close.
Even if you did, how long would you need it for, a week, a month, six months? Enough to justify all those dollars of premiums?
There are many options available, Medicare for instance. If you don’t have extended family, you will get your care. The government will see to it after you’ve exhausted your own funds.. Do you really want to burden your children with that? We don’t.
The bottom line is if they weren’t making big bucks off of it, it wouldn’t exist.
The older you are if you buy this, the higher the premiums. At our age, $250,000 in coverage would cost my wife and I $1200/ month. Ain’t happenin’.

As an addendum I saw where fitness1 put his father in a place that cost $8000/ month. I don’t know where that was or what the circumstances were, but my 93 year old Dad is receiving a lot of care in a very nice new facility for about half of that. When he runs out of his money shortly, they will accept his monthly VA benefit and Social Security which is less than half of that and keep him until he passes.

Jobe · #12 11-24-2019, 08:02 PM

Long Term Care Insurance is a very important thing to consider depending on your circumstances. If you have Real Estate and an investment portfolio long term care will eat into your assets at a tune of $60000.00 to $8000.00 a month for a nice facility. When your assets are liquidated you are kicked to the curb and wind up in a more "institutional" facility. My Mom who is approaching 90 years old made the decision years ago to go with LTC insurance at the advice of some good financial planners and investment advisors. It has proved to be wonderful for her comfort and life enjoyment. We get daily nurses each day to take care of her needs. The insurance covers it happily as it is cheaper than a Nursing Home. And Mom gets to stay home which is what she prefers. I know my Mom. She would not choose a Nursing Home. Her happiness and contentment mean everything to me. It was worth it to our family.

ceciltguitar · #13 11-24-2019, 08:33 PM

Several recent news articles have highlighted skyrocketing premiums for people who bought LTC insurance long ago.

Jobe · #14 11-24-2019, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceciltguitar

Several recent news articles have highlighted skyrocketing premiums for people who bought LTC insurance long ago.

Really? I haven't seen it.

sayheyjeff · #15 11-24-2019, 09:55 PM

We have long term care policies and have increased them over the last few years. Like having every 'safety net' we can afford in place in advance. Can add that our experiences over the last 8 years with our parents near Norwhich, Ct., Sarasota, Florida, and the suburbs of Washington, DC did not indicate there was good care available in the price range cited in this thread. We see prices closer to $10k per month and more. What was the line from The Who's "My Generation"?

Jeff