My wife and I are both 74 and are pretty healthy right now (blessings!). However we do not have a great plan for long term health care - no LTC insurance for one thing. Where should we start looking? Any and all responses would be much appreciated!
Hi there, you didn't mention if you had a home or life insurance policies. If one of you goes first, then the other could possibly live for awhile on the life insurance money. If you have a home, there are lots of ways to use it to pay for your long term plan. There are lots of ways to possibly pay for care for years, if the circumstances are right! This video might help you, it's called Creative ways to Pay for Senior care. Good luck!
At 74 you probably could not afford to buy LTC insurance if you would find one, if you could afford it you probably don't need it..if you get my drift! ;) Do you have a "financial planner"? Can you afford to put away 5 to 9 thousand each per year? That would make a dent in what LT care might cost you down the road. The other suggestion is make sure that you have your wishes well documented. A Will made out, POA for both of you for both Finances and Health, Advance Directives for both of you. And if you have children make sure they are aware and in agreement with your wishes. Make plans now..are you in a house that can be easily adapted for walkers, wheelchairs, other medical equipment? Can you remove carpet and put down water resistant flooring? At least 1 bathroom with no barriers? Wide doorways? No stairs? Make a deal with yourself to start getting rid of "STUFF" all the "precious heirlooms, antique furniture that Aunt Mable left that now resides in your basement or attic, that collection of tea pots, Precious Moments, The clothes in the back of the closet that went out of style when Nixon left office...get it all out of the house so someone does not have to deal with it later.
I suppose your other option is..take the money you have saved go on a wonderful vacation, the one you have always wanted to do. Forget about saving for the Grand kids, spend it all now then when the time comes let Medicaid step in.
Above all.. no matter what you do ..Don't expect the kids or grand kids to support you, take you in or care for you. If they want to, if they can afford to great but do not expect it.
Much depends on your financial situation and on your current living situation. I have a friend with CADISIL whose husband also has chronic issues. They recently made a move to a So state with good cost of living and nearby medical and they got a "tiny house" put in the back yard. They hope to have some years of living in there care givers who will exchange some care of them for housing and property. They have no children. So it depends on what resources you have. Wishing you good luck. Decisions so many of us are facing now.
At your age, LTC insurance is going to be quite expensive.
both of my parents had LTC policies. They had them for nearly 30 years....at a cost of ~$600 per month. This cost in excess of $200,000 per parent over the lifetime of the policy.
When my Dad was disabled and need this policy to pay for in home care....the first thing was qualifying to receive it. He had to meet 3 of 5 criteria: could not walk, could not see, could not feed himself, could not cook. could not toilet himself. This is very tough standard to meet. For a several years Mom could get no extra help paid for because of those criteria. Once my Dad's dementia was fully documented (something he worked hard at avoiding the diagnosis of). He could get the care paid for...but, the next gotcha was that they had to first pay the full price themselves for 6 full weeks contiguous. This was a huge added expense. ($6,000)
once the benefits were being paid, my Dad only survived for 10 weeks. So they paid out less than $10,000 on a policy they paid $200,000 for!!
with my mom, the whole process was then well understood. She collected payments on that policy for 10 months before she died. (Of course there way the 6 weeks that had to be self pay before any benefits would be paid). The total benefits paid out for her was $35,000
so..for more than $400,000 paid for both of them..they received about $45,000 in benefits. If they put that money into a regular savings accounts or CDs (even at .05% interest). They would have had the orginial $400k...less the $45,000 they actual paid in care costs.
so...what I am saying is....these policies are very hard to collect on...and by the time you actually met the criteria you probably have very little time left anyway.
also, I have been informed that the policy my parents had was very generous by compared to what is available now.
only way this pays is to become fully eligible to collect benefits very soon after buying the policy.
I recently learned that those LTC policies don't necessarily cover MC or hospice! So purchasers must make sure of what they are paying for, and hopefully should be a continuum of care.
http://bit.ly/2HW5f0S
Do you have a "financial planner"? Can you afford to put away 5 to 9 thousand each per year? That would make a dent in what LT care might cost you down the road.
The other suggestion is make sure that you have your wishes well documented. A Will made out, POA for both of you for both Finances and Health, Advance Directives for both of you. And if you have children make sure they are aware and in agreement with your wishes.
Make plans now..are you in a house that can be easily adapted for walkers, wheelchairs, other medical equipment? Can you remove carpet and put down water resistant flooring? At least 1 bathroom with no barriers? Wide doorways? No stairs?
Make a deal with yourself to start getting rid of "STUFF" all the "precious heirlooms, antique furniture that Aunt Mable left that now resides in your basement or attic, that collection of tea pots, Precious Moments, The clothes in the back of the closet that went out of style when Nixon left office...get it all out of the house so someone does not have to deal with it later.
I suppose your other option is..take the money you have saved go on a wonderful vacation, the one you have always wanted to do. Forget about saving for the Grand kids, spend it all now then when the time comes let Medicaid step in.
Above all.. no matter what you do ..Don't expect the kids or grand kids to support you, take you in or care for you. If they want to, if they can afford to great but do not expect it.
both of my parents had LTC policies. They had them for nearly 30 years....at a cost of ~$600 per month. This cost in excess of $200,000 per parent over the lifetime of the policy.
When my Dad was disabled and need this policy to pay for in home care....the first thing was qualifying to receive it. He had to meet 3 of 5 criteria: could not walk, could not see, could not feed himself, could not cook. could not toilet himself. This is very tough standard to meet. For a several years Mom could get no extra help paid for because of those criteria. Once my Dad's dementia was fully documented (something he worked hard at avoiding the diagnosis of). He could get the care paid for...but, the next gotcha was that they had to first pay the full price themselves for 6 full weeks contiguous. This was a huge added expense. ($6,000)
once the benefits were being paid, my Dad only survived for 10 weeks. So they paid out less than $10,000 on a policy they paid $200,000 for!!
with my mom, the whole process was then well understood. She collected payments on that policy for 10 months before she died. (Of course there way the 6 weeks that had to be self pay before any benefits would be paid). The total benefits paid out for her was $35,000
so..for more than $400,000 paid for both of them..they received about $45,000 in benefits. If they put that money into a regular savings accounts or CDs (even at .05% interest). They would have had the orginial $400k...less the $45,000 they actual paid in care costs.
so...what I am saying is....these policies are very hard to collect on...and by the time you actually met the criteria you probably have very little time left anyway.
also, I have been informed that the policy my parents had was very generous by compared to what is available now.
only way this pays is to become fully eligible to collect benefits very soon after buying the policy.