Getting long-term care insurance is something we know is important, but also something we don’t often like to think about. At any age, long-term care insurance may help with unexpected long-term care costs. So, what is the best age to buy it? In this Elder Law and Estate Planning Minute, Wes Coulson discusses that and the benefits that may come when purchasing long-term care insurance sooner vice later.
Long-Term Care Insurance: What is the best age to buy it?
Transcript:
Hi, I’m Wes Coulson and this is your Elder Law and Estate Planning Minute. You know, a lot of people when I talk to them about the wisdom of getting Long-Term Care Insurance will tell me something like, “Yea, I agree with you. I think that’s a good idea, but that’s something that we’ll look into down the road as we get older. “
Let me tell you why, I think, you’re a lot wiser to get it when you’re younger. You have to understand the math that determines how long-term care insurance premiums are charged. Insurance Companies figure that the average age of the first claim will be at around the age 80. So, if you buy long-term care insurance when you’re 55, that means they have 25 years to collect the premiums that they’re going to need for people your age to pay claims. If you wait until you are 75, they only have five years. Well, if you’ve got to collect the same amount of money over five years as over 25, common sense is going to tell you that you’re going to need to collect five times as much if you don’t start until later.
It’s actually a lot worse than that because the Insurance Companies take that money that’s paid on premiums and they invest it. So, if you’ll shop long-term care insurance at various ages, I think what you’re going to find in a lot of cases, is that if you buy it relatively young, it’s affordable and a good investment and it becomes less so the longer that you wait to make that commitment. Thanks.
Long-term care insurance is, for some people, a good option for protecting their life savings from being lost to long-term care costs. A good long-term care insurance policy can be the cornerstone of an asset preservation plan. “Asset-based” policies can help address the “use it or lose it” objection many people have to traditional long-term care insurance.
For more about Long-Term Care Insurance and Long-Term Care Costs, visit these articles:
- Asset-Based Long-Term Care Insurance
- Long-Term Care Costs: The Biggest Threat to Your Financial Future
- 4 Myths about Medicare & Medicaid Long-Term Care Coverage
- The Biggest Threat to Your Financial Future
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (877)995-6876 or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
