A tidal wave of caregiving is about to hit U.S. employers as the fastest growing segment of the workforce is age 55 and up, employees who are in their prime caregiving years. Just under half (49%) of the workforce expects to provide care to a family member or friend in the next five years. Do …
Feb 11
An easier way to qualify for long-term care insurance
It’s imperative that we continue to look for alternate ways to manage the long-term care (LTC) risk, and that’s how I’ve been spending much of my time. For example, I’m looking at a number of annuities that provide long-term care benefits. Why annuities? Because underwriting for traditional LTC insurance has become rather challenging. For those …
Dec 10
The Dramatic Difference LTC Insurance Makes to the Caregiver
Mary and Valerie have a lot in common as they are both caregivers. Mary’s Aunt Julia has long-term care insurance, whereas Valerie’s mother does not. Does it make a difference? Have you considered long-term care insurance to protect your family from the impact on Valerie’s life?
Sep 07
Combining Life Insurance or Annuities with Long-Term Care Insurance
It would be easy to say “yes” to long-term care insurance if you didn’t have to come up with new money to pay for it, wouldn’t it? Well, there might just be a way to pull that off by repositioning money you already have. An important tax change was effective January 1, 2010* that has made it easier to combine long-term care insurance with either life insurance or annuities. This article shows three reasons why you might want to do that.
Jul 15
Dave Ramsey helps so many people but he is way off on when to buy LTC coverage
If Dave could just grasp that telling people to wait until their 60s can not only price them out of the market, it can make them uninsurable so that no amount of money will buy it for them. Sadly, the 60 year olds who try and fail to get LTC insurance are very likely to lose the financial peace for which they turned to him to start with because long-term care is the most common reason people outlive their savings.
Jul 03
Phyllis Shelton Says Wall St. Journal Didn’t Go Deep Enough on LTC Insurance Rate Increases
Phyllis Shelton expands on the July 1, 2013 Wall St. Journal article that discusses LTC insurance rate increases by showing how to evaluate a rate increase, how to save money by buying Long-Term Care Partnership plans, and how to view the impact of not planning for extended health care.
Jun 29
What Does the Supreme Court’s Decision to Nullify DOMA Mean for Medicaid LTC Benefits?
Publicity around the Supreme Court’s decision to nullify the Defense of Marriage Act on June 26, 2013 has centered around the ability to file joint tax returns and collect survivor social security benefits. My first reaction was “What about the ability to take advantage of the spousal impoverishment benefits under Medicaid?”
Jun 11
Response to June 8 2013 New York Times article about LTCI claims
If you saw the New York Times article “Fine Print and Red Tape in LTC Policies”, you may be questioning your decision to buy long-term care insurance. Or, if you have a policy, this article may have made you wonder if you should have bought it. The fact that I’m writing this response shows you how important it is to me that you don’t have these doubts. Please let me lay your concerns to rest as I respond to a client’s question about her CNA policy.
Apr 30
How much does long-term care insurance cost? (rate calculator for sample plan)
Buying long-term care insurance is like buying a car. You pay for the core components like an engine and four wheels with tires on them, then add the options that mean the most to you.
Apr 16
What happens if a LTC insurer goes out of business? How common does this happen?
Each state has a guaranty fund to protect policyholders from an insurance company that goes out of business. This is an extremely rare situation with long-term care insurance. This article explains what happens to your coverage if a company is declared insolvent.