The cost of long term care is increasing. Baby boomers are surging toward retirement years. Did you know that neither Medicare nor Obamacare pay for long term care? You are on your own!
If you want statistics, we can show you numbers but it is enough to know that it is highly probable that most people will need some form of assistance as they age and become increasingly frail.
One factor is whether or not it is realistic for aging baby boomers to depend upon their children to step away from the needs of their own families and careers to provide the necessary care. Even if there is such willingness, often the level of care required exceeds what can be safely provided by family members.
Are you telling yourself that you are self-insured? Do you really have at least $300,000 set aside now to take care of yourself later? Or are you convinced that, “when the time comes,” you’ll take the matter into your own hands and end your declining health quickly? Assisted suicide is illegal; and statistics reveal that the claims to commit suicide are rarely acted upon because life feels precious to most of us at any age and condition.
If you are still reading, you should be having a sense that you’d better do something. But what can you do? If you are reasonably healthy, Long Term Care Insurance might be a good option. We can help you with Long Term Care Insurance, possibly building from a life insurance policy that might not seem as necessary as it once did. If you are a wartime veteran, we can point you towards a couple of benefits that give you a head start. Depending on your age and assets, maybe an irrevocable trust would be a good option. Under current laws, we do not usually recommend the revocable living trusts that are pushed by some attorneys, who we imagine are wasting your money in good faith because they do not fully understand the complexity of the long term care options and government regulations.
It is hard to think about long-term care when you have immediate challenges in your life such as raising a family, building a career, and paying off a mortgage and college expenses. By age 55, you really need to have a check up to get a sense of your options, although if you have the discipline to focus at a younger age, you likely will feel rewarded for doing so. It is sad but not uncommon when an unexpected change in health occurs and takes away options that would have been available if planning had started earlier.
Why not schedule an appointment with us to check out your options so you can have an idea of what small steps you can take now to avoid heartache later? We also hold free public seminars which provide an overview of important issues for seniors.
For additional information or questions, give us a call at 717-697-3223.
