About Long Term Care
Long Term Care insurance has become one of the hottest topics of discussion. Regardless of the fact that this product has been around for the last 30 years, in one fashion or another, it has only been in the last few years that it has really become part of the retirement and estate planning process.
Please read some of the Q&A below and determine for yourself how beneficial Long Term Care insurance can be for you, as well as your clients! When you're ready, call the LTC team at UMS for assistance...
Why is planning for Long Term Care a critical step in the retirement planning process?
Statistically speaking, a person's chance of living long enough to need care someday is very high. Regardless, the reason a plan is important for LTCI is the same reason a retirement plan is important...because planning ahead is better than waiting until it's too late, period.
Why should Long Term Care be part of my repertoire?
People born between the years of 1946 and 1962 are commonly referred to as the "Baby Boomers" and constitute nearly 80 million people! And, the last we looked, they were growing older!
Long Term Care insurance is part of the future because people don't die today from the same things that they died from in the "good old days." Heart attacks, strokes, and cancer are some of the conditions that were considered death sentences before, but are now manageable conditions!
If people don't die, then they live. If they live, then they grow older. If they grow older, they may get sick. If they get sick, they may need care because they're older.
Why can't my clients rely on government programs?
Turn on any news report, read any news article, search the internet for any reference to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and find basically the same answer. There is not enough funding of these programs to support the current populace, let alone the future ones.
Medicare pays very little, for nursing care only, and Medicaid pays only when the individual has become impoverished. Remember, Medicaid is part of the welfare program.
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 has changed the scope of planning to move monies to family, friends, churches etc. The look back period for planning for Medicaid has changed from 3 years to 5 years and virtually nothing escapes the review of where dollars have gone, not annuities, life insurance policies, grandchildren, etc. In order for an individual to become impoverished means losing control of their assets, probably long before they need to worry about long-term assistance or Medicaid.