Close

long term care insurance

Beware: Some Advice About Long Term Care Planning Can Border on Foolish

man on calculator

In a column dated January 17, 2021, the writers at The Motley Fool opined about, “how to prepare for disasters.” They wrote that, “it’s fine to prepare for unlikely disasters, perhaps by buying earthquake insurance in a low-risk region—or keeping garlic on you in case of vampire attack.” They continued, “but be sure that you’re preparing for more likely disasters…such as these:   Having a bad credit score   Losing your job   Needing long-term care   Not being able to retire.” Regarding item number three, they rightly advised: “Long-term care is an important issue everyone should consider.” Their reasoning, […]

Read More

Covid Vaccines and Long Term Care Planning

calculator and graphs

Although the Covid-19 outbreaks in nursing homes and VA facilities have been front page news, the impact of the pandemic on long term care planning hasn’t been widely discussed. This is understandable, as most Americans are grappling with the pandemic’s impact on their immediate needs such as their health, income, and childcare and schooling for their children and grandchildren. Because long term care planning is an important part of every person’s retirement planning, I’d like to take some time to focus on it at this critical moment, when vaccines are finally here. Let’s reflect on what the pandemic has already […]

Read More

Last Minute Holiday Gift: Long Term Care Insurance Tax Deduction

gift

Imagine a gift that gives not only to the family and friends you love, but to yourself as well. But, as they say, “Wait, there’s more!” In fact, this gift is often tax-deductible! Yes, it does sound too good to be true…but luckily, it’s not. That holiday gift which benefits you and the ones you love, is in fact a long term care insurance with a tax deduction. Business owners of all types can deduct long term care insurance premiums on their federal income taxes.  Not a business owner? You may still be eligible to deduct premiums. Depending on where […]

Read More

Is This the Month to Apply for Long Term Care Insurance?

calendar

Quick— what’s November? No, the answer I’m looking for isn’t, “it’s the month we celebrate Thanksgiving,” but rather, “It’s National Long Term Care Awareness Month!” Although long term care insurance specialists, and the insurers whose products they place, will be happy to tell you about the importance of this special month, the biggest boosters of long term care awareness are probably the people, and the families, experiencing a need for care right now. Clearly, if the goal is to plan for care and fund future long term care needs, step one is being aware that funds are needed! However, a […]

Read More

Flexibility in Long Term Care Planning

flexibility

 “This is my plan and I’m sticking to it—for now.” When planning for long term care and considering long term care insurance, most people know where they would like to receive their care. However, Covid-19 may be changing these preferences and the options available. There was a time when home care only policies were all the rage—purchased by people wanting to make sure they’d receive their care in the comfort of their own home. Clearly, it’s human nature to bring our care preferences into long term care insurance policy design. Decades ago, nursing home only policies were popular…perhaps because fewer […]

Read More

A Decades Long Dance: Long Term Care Reform

dancer

Whether dancers are in the ballroom or on the ice, they display beautiful, artistic maneuvers, usually landing not far from where they began. No matter how intricate or athletic the moves, dancers won’t have covered all that much distance. Similarly, it can seem like long-term care reform has had detailed, thorough, intricate discussions for decades, yet still hasn’t ended up far from where it started. If I had a nickel for every time someone said to me, “The government is going to have to do something about long term care – there are too many baby boomers for the powers-that-be […]

Read More

Reimagining Retirement and Long Term Care

retirement home

Depending on where you live in the United States and whether or not you know anyone who’s had a serious case of Covid-19, you may or may not believe that this pandemic will impact your personal retirement plans.   That thought is actually very similar to one of the basic characteristics of long term care (LTC) insurance purchasers. For many years, insurance agents and insurance company marketing departments have known this fact: a person who actually knows someone who needed long term care is the most likely purchaser of LTC insurance.   Yes, firsthand knowledge can make the difference between someone who […]

Read More

Healthy Coincidence?

healthy meal

A study published June 17th, 2020 in the journal, Neurology, emphasizes how important a healthy lifestyle is in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.   Since Alzheimer’s is the leading cause of dementia, and dementia has been called “arguably the single most common disabling and costly geriatric syndrome in long-term care,” it makes sense to embrace these healthy lifestyle activities.    The article “Healthy Lifestyle and the Risk of Alzheimer Dementia,” tracked the following:   Nonsmoking   Physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week moderate/vigorous-intensity)   Light to moderate alcohol consumption   High-quality diet (Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet, sometimes called […]

Read More

An Updated Look at Long Term Care Planning

elderly couple on a walk

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we plan for a lot of things.  Gone, at least temporarily, are the happy-go-lucky quick runs to the grocery store to pick up a missing ingredient. When we venture out to get groceries, we understand that the less time we spend there, the healthier we’ll likely be.  Vacation plans? Poof— no more!  Hopping on a plane to see a friend or a new grandchild? Not now! But, when I consider these new trends, here’s what I find intriguing: not all the changes due to COVID-19 have been negative. Why, for instance, should we […]

Read More

Is Long Term Care Insurance Nursing Home Avoidance Insurance?

home exterior

If you have a loved one in a nursing home, it’s likely that you are in the unfortunate scenario that you are unable to visit them due to the pandemic. Even those without nursing-home-bound family members have seen the heartbreaking photos of relatives at senior care facilities communicating through windows or even via signs on lawns. Of course, there’s a very good reason for the distancing. It’s becoming increasingly clear that residents of nursing homes are among the most vulnerable in the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only are most residents over 65, but they often have additional risk factors such as […]

Read More