Scary LTC Facts

“In preparing for battle I have always found the plans are useless, but planning is indispensable”

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Long-term care is a huge personal fear, perceived as a financial disaster waiting to happen. Yet many people feel that the obvious solution, buying long-term care insurance, is more painful than the looming disaster.

Consider these facts:

• 70% of people over age 65 will require long-term care insurance in their lifetime. The national average cost for nursing home care is $7,543 per month ($90,520/year)
• Last year the national average cost for full-time home healthcare is $15,330 per month ($183,960)
• Women need care longer (on average 3.9 years) than men (on average 2.2 years) mostly because women usually live longer.
• More than one in six Americans working full or part-time report assisting with the care of an elderly or disabled family member, relative, or friend. Caregivers working at least 15 hours per week said it significantly affected their work life.
• In 2010, 40% of those who received long-term care services were between the ages of 18 and 64. Trends show that people are starting to prepare for long-term care expenses earlier in life. In 2010, the average age of a person with LTC protection was 61.
• 7.6 million Americans age 55 and older have private long-term care insurance, accounting for 10.7% of adults in this age group.

The odds are about 75% of Baby Boomers will need some sort of long-term care yet only about 10% of the population has taken steps to cover this risk.  The good news is, there is a solution to the long-term care crisis in America.  If your clients haven’t allocated some of their assets to cover a long-term care event, they have essentially allocated ALL of their assets to cover a long-term care event!